Guard Me, Guide Me
by Awela
Summary: Blaine Anderson is the lonely son of a successful businessman, tired of being guarded all the time. Kurt is a young man, working as bodyguard, unable to find his place after his parents' deaths. What happens when the two of them are forced to work together? Will they be able to trust each other when they can trust no one else?
1. Chapter 1

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I promised you a new story after my exams, so here it is! Okay, it's not really a new story, I started working on it about a year ago but I didn't want to publish it before the end of the Warbler series, and then I just didn't have enough time for another story. But it's finally here and I'm so excited about it.**

 **Yes, it's another bodyguard story. I had two unfinished stories, this one and a supernatural one, and I decided to make this happen first. I fell in love with this AU so easily, I hope you'll enjoy it too.**

It was late but all the lights in the Anderson house were on. Victor Anderson was sitting in his study, drinking his expensive scotch, his eyes on the photo standing right in front of him. It had been taken so many years ago, when his sons had been so young. When everything had been so easy. He sighed as he took the photo into his hands. He wished things hadn't been so complicated anymore, especially not with his younger son. He still remembered how hard the teenage years had been with Cooper but it seemed a lot worse now that Blaine was sixteen. Probably because he hadn't had to worry about Cooper's safety all the time like he did now.

He put down the photo and checked the time on his watch. It was too late. Blaine should have been back by now. He tried to prepare himself for the talk with his son because he knew for sure that it wouldn't be nice. Blaine hated this situation, probably more than anybody else. Of course he did. He didn't understand how much danger they were in.

He glanced at the letter sitting on his desk and pushed it away. He wished he could just make them disappear, that he could act like they meant nothing. Unfortunately, he couldn't be so careless. The threats had become more serious in the previous weeks and he was scared that he might lose his family if he didn't do something. But what could he do?

He heard loud voices just outside of his study and took a deep breath as the door opened. Puck, his security chief stepped inside first, followed by his very angry looking son. Victor sighed as he watched the boy. He knew that Blaine hated this but it was for his own sake. He couldn't lose him like he had lost Pamela all those years ago.

"What's going on, father?" Blaine asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"You left without a word. Again" Victor said, trying to keep his voice calm. He wasn't too pleased that Blaine had left on his own and he had to send his own bodyguards out to find the boy, but he was relieved to see Blaine safe and that was the most important.

"I had to be there" Blaine said. "It was a Warbler party."

Victor wanted to laugh but there was nothing funny in the situation. Blaine could have died that night. They had to take it seriously.

"Blaine, I know how important these events are for you…"

"No, you don't" Blaine cut in. "You keep me locked away from my friends. I'm losing everything important and you don't even care."

Victor rubbed his tired eyes.

"You know that we have to be careful" he said. "There are people out there who want to hurt you to get to me. I have to keep you safe."

Blaine simply shook his head. He still didn't understand.

"You can go to those parties once we are safe again" Victor said.

"When will it happen, dad?" Blaine asked. "I just want to live like any other teenager. I want to be free. Why can't you understand that?"

"I understand that, Blaine. That's why you have your own bodyguard" Victor said slowly. "You can go wherever you want. If you take her with you, of course."

"I don't need a babysitter" Blaine said stubbornly.

"But you need someone to keep you safe" Victor said.

Blaine muttered something his father couldn't understand and then left the room without giving his father a chance to say anything more. The two adults were silent for a while after that. Victor looked at Puckerman then and smiled. There was no emotion to be seen on the man's face. He acted like always, like a real professional. He was used to these fights after all.

"What should I do?" Victor asked.

"Give him what he wants" Puck said honestly.

"I can't do that, you know" Victor said. Both of them did. Ever since the first letter had arrived, it was clear that whoever was after him, they would hurt Blaine to get to him. Only because he created a successful company with a few inventions on his own and now he was rich enough to pay for the best scientists of the states who did the hard work for him, it didn't mean he deserved to live on constant fear and keep his family away from the whole world. It wasn't fair. But he wouldn't survive if he lost one of his sons, too.

"I'm not saying that he doesn't need a bodyguard anymore" Puck said. "I know what his problem is, though. Those guys, well… They are too old. They don't understand Blaine. Maybe someone closer to his age would be able to get closer to him."

"Do you have someone in your mind?" Victor asked.

Puck smiled.

"I think I might know a man for the job."

~ o ~

Puck almost laughed as he watched his friend. Kurt was usually a quiet man but he hadn't said a single word since Puck had told him about the job. He knew that Kurt needed money and he had no other clients right now but he seemed to hesitate.

"Come on, say something" Puck said.

"I'm not sure I want this" Kurt said. "I don't want to be the babysitter of some spoiled rich kid."

"I know it's not much but it's better than nothing, right?" Puck said.

Kurt sighed and looked down at his coffee.

"At least you can practice your acting skills" Puck added.

Kurt snorted. Puck knew what he was thinking. Kurt wanted to be an actor, he had wanted to be one since their childhood but he had lost his chance to get out of Lima when his father had died. He had been left alone and he had had no money to go to New York. He had been so depressed back then, that was when he had started fighting and he had quickly become good in it. Puck had been working for the Andersons then and he had had connections, so he often got Kurt new jobs. This one would be even better, not just a temporary project. If he managed to get to kid like him, Victor would surely keep him.

"Say yes" Puck said.

"Does he know about it?" Kurt asked. "Because I don't want to lie to him. I saw it happen in a movie once and believe me, it wasn't nice."

"Of course he does" Puck said.

"And is he okay with it?" Kurt asked.

"Sure. He can't wait to meet you" Puck said. "Come on. I know you want this."

Kurt looked back at his coffee and said nothing.

~ o ~

"I don't need a babysitter!"

Victor sighed as he watched his son. He had thought that Blaine would like the idea of getting a more suitable bodyguard but his son wasn't excited at all.

"You need someone to keep you safe" he said slowly. "This guy looks so young, we can say that he's the new student in your school. No one will know who he really is."

"He would follow me everywhere" Blaine said.

"That's the plan, yes" Victor nodded.

"But…"

"Either this or your usual bodyguard, but you're not going anywhere without protection" Victor said seriously. Blaine had to understand that he needed someone to keep him safe.

The boy sighed and sat down, watching his father thoughtfully.

"I really don't have a say in this, right?" Blaine asked.

"I'm sorry, Blaine, but I can't let you go out there all alone" Victor said. "I received a new letter this morning. Those guys are serious. I'm afraid that they might hurt you."

Blaine gulped nervously. Even if he didn't like this, he didn't want to get hurt. But he couldn't imagine a bulky bodyguard as a high school student, it was impossible, his schoolmates would never believe them and it would cause more trouble for him than anything else so far.

"Meet him" Victor said when Blaine didn't reply. "Give him a chance, try to get to know him."

Either this or a real bodyguard. Blaine had to decide which one he wanted. He didn't have another choice.

"Fine" he said in the end.

"Wonderful" Victor smiled. "I'll call him in the morning and arrange a meeting. Who knows, maybe you'll get along well."

Blaine rolled his eyes. He was pretty sure that he would hate the guy.

"If we can believe Puck, he's a quite good looking man" Victor added, hoping that it would cheer Blaine up a bit.

Unfortunately, his son didn't seem to believe that it might work.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Here is chapter 2. Kurt and Blaine finally meet.**

 **Thank you so much for reading my story! Please let me know what you think.**

Kurt leaned forward in his seat to take a better look at the gates. Okay, he had known that the Andersons had money, a lot, but this was simply insane. He couldn't even see the house from the large trees for a long while, it seemed like they were driving through a forest. If there was such a huge park, how big could the house be?

"They need a lot space for so many people" Puck said as he looked at his friend, knowing what Kurt was thinking.

Kurt snorted and turned away. He didn't understand these people. If he had had so much money, he would have built orphanages, adopted a lot of animals o something like that. Something useful. Spending so much for an estate they didn't even need… That was just waste of money.

"You should keep your thoughts for yourself, you know" Puck said. Kurt was so easy to read.

"I just don't get it" Kurt said. "There are so many ways to spend that money and these people don't care about anybody but themselves. They don't even need this stuff. Then why?"

"Look, you don't know Victor" Puck started. "His wife was killed about ten years ago and he was left with a teenager and small kid. He tries to be a good father."

"He can't buy his children's love. That's not how it works" Kurt said.

"That's what Blaine says, too" Puck smiled. "I guess you two will get along well."

"If you say so" Kurt muttered. He already knew that he would hate the kid. He knew his kind after all. Daddy bought them everything and they thought that the world was theirs. Maybe he should get out of here before it was too late...

"Just try not to be yourself. And smile" Puck said.

Kurt shook his head. As if it was so easy… He barely showed any sign of happiness since his father's death. There was nothing happy in his life after all. He had lost his dreams so long ago, he was just… existing. He didn't really know what to do with his life and honestly, he didn't even want to think about it. He survived one day after the other and that was perfectly enough for him. He didn't want to think about what he might have, so his dreams wouldn't be shattered again.

"Smile" Puck reminded him again when they finally arrived.

"You know that I won't right?" Kurt asked.

"At least I tried" Puck shrugged.

Kurt got out of the car and looked at the huge building in front of him. It was like a castle with dozens of large windows and thick walls. Okay, if he was completely honest with himself, he could have imagined living in such a beautiful place. The rooms must have been big and light and enjoying a cup of coffee on that terrace between the flowers was surely nice, too.

"Still don't like the place?" Puck smirked.

"Again. Too big for a family" Kurt said, returning to his usual self.

"Come on. I'll show you around" Puck sighed and motioned towards the door.

Kurt followed the other man, taking slow steps to have enough time to look around. Puck had already told him about the security system and Kurt was impressed when he saw that the cameras were placed perfectly. They covered the most important places and still stayed hidden from view. Good job. But, of course, when someone had money...

"You must be Kurt Hummel!"

Kurt found the source of the voice within a blink. It was an older man, about his height, with white curly hair and bright blue eyes. For someone in his age, he looked quite good.

"Mr Anderson" Kurt nodded.

Victor offered his right hand but Kurt didn't make any move to take it. Puck quickly stepped forward, knowing that Victor didn't like this kind of behavior.

"He doesn't really get in contact with people if he can help it" Puck explained. "You know… infections and stuff."

Victor didn't seem too impressed.

"I know what you think about me, Mr Anderson" Kurt said. He didn't seem scared of the man at all, although he knew very well that he shouldn't make Victor Anderson angry. "You think that I'm weird and you may be correct. I'm not the social type but that's not why I'm here, right?"

Victor watched him in silence for a while and then, to Kurt's surprise, he smiled.

"I like him" he told Puck before turning back to Kurt. "We should talk privately before you meet my son."

Kurt nodded and followed the man into his study. Victor offered him a seat but Kurt shook his head.

"I'll rest on my days off" he said.

"You're an impressive young man" Victor said. "How old are you exactly?"

"24" Kurt answered without hesitation. "Puck and I were classmates in high school."

"You look so much younger" Victor said.

"I'm still not sure if I'll pass as a high school student" Kurt said.

"I don't think that will be a problem" Victor said. "So Puckerman told you what your job would be."

"Yes" Kurt nodded. "Does your son know about me?"

"Of course" Victor said. "He understands that this is necessary and he'll be cooperative."

Puck raised an eyebrow but said nothing. It was better to stay out of this. He trusted his friend to be able to handle a teenager, even if it was Blaine. The boy could be really stubborn when he wanted something but he was also a nice kid. And always so happy. That was the reason Puck wanted Kurt to get this job. After his parents' deaths, Kurt had changed a lot and not to the right direction. He was always gruff and distant and his positive side his friends loved so much in him nowhere to be seen. He barely smiled, he never joked and gave up his hobby. He never sang anymore, although it had been so hard to shut him up when they had been teenagers. Yes, Kurt was a completely different person and Puck was afraid that he might do something stupid if they didn't help him. Blaine would be good for him, he would remind Kurt on the best days of his life and maybe help him find a reason to live.

"This is Blaine's schedule" Victor said as he continued his conversation with Kurt while Puck was watching them. "It's quite simple. You'll stay in school from Monday till Friday. You share every class with Blaine."

"Of course" Kurt nodded. How else was he supposed to watch Blaine all the time?

"You also share the same room" Victor continued.

Puck looked at Kurt nervously but Kurt didn't show any sign that he had a problem with that. Before the accident, he would have acted so differently. Kurt had been a shy boy who couldn't imagine sleeping in a room with another boy, probably because he had felt like an outsider in their school as the only openly gay student. Not that his friends had had any problem with that, it had been only Kurt who couldn't handle it. Okay, there had been those idiots, too, but they had never mattered.

"I'll keep my eyes on him all the time" Kurt said, his voice lacking any kind of emotion.

"Blaine and his brother mean the world to me" Victor said seriously. "Since that… unfortunate incident with their mother, I'm trying to keep them safe. Whether they understand that or not."

Kurt almost snorted but he was professional enough to keep his emotions under control. He knew exactly what had happened to Anderson's wife and he had his own opinion about it. But he was just an employer here who was paid to keep the kid of this man safe and not because Victor Anderson wanted to know what he thought about him.

"I understand that you're worried about your sons but you can trust me" Kurt said. "I won't leave Blaine alone for a second. Nobody will be able to get close enough to him."

He looked straight into Victor's eyes like nobody else dared. There was something in the man's eyes that scared everyone, even Puck, but Kurt didn't seem to sense it at all. Or he just didn't care. One thing was sure, Victor believed him and trusted him to keep Blaine safe.

"Very good" Victor nodded. "Where was I… Oh, yes. Free time activities."

"I can keep him in his room if you want that" Kurt said.

"Oh, no" Victor smiled. "Although I would be happier to know where my son spends his time, he's a teenager. There are those… events."

"What kind of events?" Kurt asked.

"Blaine's a Gargler" Puck explained.

"A what?" Kurt asked.

"Warbler" Victor corrected his bodyguard. "It's a…"

"Show choir" Kurt nodded. "A pretty good one."

Victor seemed to be pleased that Kurt didn't only know about the Warblers but also thought that they were good. Although the older man rarely had the opportunity to see his son perform, he knew that Blaine had a great voice and enjoyed performing with his friends.

"It's really important for my son" Victor said. "Normally, I would agree with you that he shouldn't take part in this activities but it makes him happy."

Kurt looked at the man again. Most people thought the same about Victor Anderson, that he was just a rich and cruel man who didn't care about anyone and anything but himself. Maybe they were wrong. Maybe this man had a heart like anybody else. And if he was right, he had to be very careful not to let anybody know about it. Blaine and his brother were already in danger because of their father's business, if anybody found out how much they meant to their father, that would cause them a lot of trouble.

"Warbler practice and performances" Kurt nodded. "I can handle it, although I think some of the guards should join us for events outside of the school."

"I'm open for your ideas" Victor said. "Just tell me how many people you need and I'll get you them."

"I guess you checked their backgrounds" Kurt said. He had to know if he could trust the other guards.

"They're all clean" Victor nodded. "I don't let anyone into my home. Especially after…"

He didn't say more but they all knew what he meant. After losing his wife, of course. That must have been hard for all of them. For a second, Kurt felt sympathy towards the man. He had lost his own parents after all, he knew how much it hurt, even after so many years.

"I guess you want to meet Blaine" Victor said after a while. "Puck, would you show Kurt to Blaine's room?"

"Of course" Puck nodded.

Kurt raised an eyebrow but he was quick to turn away before Victor could notice it. He followed Puck out of the room and towards the stairs.

"He stayed behind" Kurt said when they were in safe distance.

"Is it wrong?" Puck asked.

"His son gets a new bodyguard and he doesn't want to be there when they meet" Kurt replied. "Don't you think it's wrong?"

"You'll learn that nothing is wrong anymore if you work here" Puck shrugged.

Kurt decided that he didn't want to know what it meant. He accepted this job because of his friends and he wouldn't change his mind just because his employee wasn't strange. He would do what he had to and wouldn't get into the drama of the Anderson family if he could help it.

~ o ~

One. Two. Three.

One. Two. Three.

Blaine closed his eyes and tried to focus on the music in his ear. It was hard when people couldn't stop shouting in the house. There were way too many of them, there were guards everywhere and they were noisy. Was it possible? Bodyguards were supposed to be silent and unnoticeable. Right? Then why were theirs so annoying?

Blaine started to think that his father had turned insane and that was the reason of all those people in their home. It had been so much easier when he had been younger… When their family had been so much simpler, when his mother had been still alive…

Blaine sighed and pushed his thoughts about his mother to the back of his mind. It was hard not to think about her, he seemed to miss her more and more as he got older, but this little trick always worked. He barely remembered his mother anymore or what he was missing with her gone. It wasn't necessarily the best he could do but definitely better than crying his heart out. His father didn't like it when he cried. Nor did his bodyguards. They didn't understand him, nobody did. He was all alone, especially when he was home. Not that he had so many friends, not anymore, thanks to his father and his strict rules.

 _So raise your glass if you are wrong_

 _In all the right ways…_

It didn't mean he could stop practicing. Their next competition was coming up, they were one man down, and they needed their lead singer more than ever. Blaine Anderson, the greatest Warbler of history. People had to remember him like that once he graduated. That was all he had.

Blaine turned around while still singing and dancing but he stopped suddenly when he realized that he wasn't alone. There were people in his room and they were watching him. The boy quickly pulled out his earpieces and tried not to blush.

"What are you doing in my room and why didn't you knock?" Blaine asked.

"We knocked" Puck said.

"You just didn't hear it because of those things in your ears" the other man – or boy because he was about his age – said. "It's really dangerous, you know. Anybody could sneak into your room to kill you and you wouldn't even notice it."

"Who the hell is this?" Blaine glared at the man for a moment before turning to Puck.

"This is Kurt Hummel" Puck smiled. "I already told you about him."

"The bodyguard?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow. It had to be a misunderstanding. This boy couldn't be a real bodyguard.

"That's him" Puck nodded. "Your father wants you to get to know each other. He also thinks that you should show Kurt around and let him know how things work here."

"You can't be serious" Blaine said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

He could tell that Kurt wasn't too impressed. It didn't really bother Blaine, he already didn't like the guy and he was pretty sure that it wouldn't change. It wasn't only the fact that he was a bodyguard and Blaine hated all of his kind but also because he didn't like how the man looked at him. He judged him, just like the others. Kurt thought that he was just the spoiled kid of Victor Anderson, a burden he had to work with for a few months before moving forward to a more impressive position. Yes, Blaine was nothing but an opportunity for something better, that was what these men considered him. Blaine had enough experience after all.

"I'll leave you alone" Puck said. "Don't do anything stupid, boys."

"We won't" Kurt said.

Blaine snorted. This guy seemed worse than the others. Was he even able to smile? At least he could have been a little bit nicer to him.

Puck left them and Blaine walked back to his desk. He wasn't in the mood to sing anymore. Kurt surely didn't appreciate music like he did. He would just make fun of him and that was the last thing Blaine needed. He had had another fight with his father the previous night and he hadn't had much sleep. He was tired as hell.

"I thought you would show me the house" Kurt said after a while.

"I'm not in the mood" Blaine said. "Go and ask Puck."

Kurt sighed in annoyance.

"Look, kid…"

"It's Blaine."

"Blaine" Kurt repeated. Was it possible that he was losing his temper already? It was a new record. "You don't have to like me. I'm not your friend and I won't pretend like I like you either. But we have to work together and I would appreciate if you made my job easier."

Blaine smiled. This guy didn't know much about him if he thought he would cooperate, especially if he couldn't even act like he cared about him. They were always the same...

"Okay, new guy" Blaine sighed. "Why don't you just leave me alone and discover the house alone? I don't need you anyway."

"Yes, you do" Kurt said seriously. "You're my responsibility. Anywhere you go, I'll be there too."

"I don't need a babysitter" Blaine said.

"And I don't need the tantrums of a spoiled rich brat but I guess I have to live with them" Kurt replied.

"Get out of my room" Blaine hissed. How dared this man talk to him like that? Just one minute with his dad and Kurt would be fired.

"As I said, I'm not going anywhere without you" Kurt said stubbornly and to Blaine's disbelief, he sat down onto his bed. Without asking him first. It was insane. "So are you up for a tour?"

"No" Blaine said. "I have to study."

They watched each other in silence for a while. Blaine hoped that Kurt would get bored and finally leave him alone but he didn't seem like he would go anywhere anytime soon.

"You know, you should start working on that homework if you want to get ready with it today" Kurt said.

"I'm not that slow" Blaine rolled his eyes.

"You have to work hard to get a suitable degree to take over daddy's business" Kurt said, seemingly way too amused.

"You're an asshole" Blaine said.

"I know" Kurt shrugged.

Blaine suppressed a growl of frustration and turned back to his book, trying to focus on the text. It was hard. He wanted this guy gone, preferably as soon as possible, but something told him that he wouldn't get rid of him too easily. His father was already tired of him playing games with his guards and he had seemed too determined to keep this one. Blaine knew he should skip homework and move forward right to his plan of how to chase away Kurt Hummel, now when the man didn't know him and wasn't prepared for Blaine's strike.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story!**

 **Here is the new chapter, I hope you like it.**

 **Many thanks for the French translation to Rose1404.**

The weekend quickly passed. Kurt thought that those few days would be enough for Blaine to understand that they needed to cooperate and it would be much easier with him, but it seemed like Blaine only wanted to make his job harder. The kid barely talked to him and tried to flee every time he had the opportunity. Kurt had to keep his eyes open all the time because he could never be sure what to expect from the kid. He started to regret taking on this job. Blaine was just an annoying kid and Kurt hated every second they had to spend together.

And it would be a lot more now that Blaine had to go back to school and it would be just the two of them… They would spend every second of every day together and Kurt had no idea how he would manage. He would need all of his willpower not to choke the kid.

"You look great" Puck smiled when Kurt walked down the stairs.

Kurt groaned as he glanced at his uniform. He hated private schools and he hated all those spoiled kids. He also hated wearing a uniform. It was so not his style.

"Good luck" Puck said.

"I'll need it" Kurt said. "I have no idea how I'll survive with the kid."

"Just keep him away from trouble and try to get to know him better" Puck said. "Who knows, maybe you'll be friends."

Kurt snorted. He was pretty sure that he and Blaine would never become friends. They were too different. Kurt had gone through too much in his life to be able to enjoy it and Blaine… Well, Blaine was too young to understand anything. His father had sheltered him in his whole life and now it was Kurt who had to deal with its consequences. Blaine thought that it was all fun but if something happened to him, Kurt would be in trouble, not him. So there was no time to make friends, not when he needed all of his energy to keep the kid safe.

"I doubt that" Kurt whispered to Puck when he spotted Blaine on the top of the stairs.

They were already late but Blaine seemed just as careless as always. He took slow steps towards them as if they had all the time they needed when he knew very well that Kurt had to talk to the principal before their first class, not to mention that he wanted to check on their bedroom in the morning to make sure that everything was alright. He didn't want to waste any time in the afternoon to search for bugs when he could do it in the morning as well.

"We're already late, Anderson" Kurt said impatiently.

"Are we?" Blaine asked in surprise. "Oh, I forgot that you're playing exchange student."

Of course, Kurt thought. They had only talked about it about a dozen times. It was easy to forget...

"Let's go!" Kurt said.

They walked to the limo that usually drove Blaine to school – a limo, for a teenager, that was insane – and Kurt gave the driver his best deadly glare when the man tried to open the door for him. He had his own hands, he didn't need someone else to open the door for him. Having his own driver and his own limo when Blaine was 16 and absolutely didn't need any of that was crazy enough.

"Are you sure they'll buy your story about coming from France?" Blaine asked after a while.

Kurt glanced at the driver. He wasn't comfortable having a third person around when they had such a conversation but he also knew that the guy must have heard about him and knew very well who Kurt really was. It wasn't safe at all.

"It's gonna be fine" he said.

"Why French? Your name sound more German" Blaine said.

"Because I haven't spoken German for years and we can't risk getting caught" Kurt answered.

"Your French is surely not that good either" Blaine snorted.

"Tu ne sais rien sur moi, Blaine Anderson, mes parents n'ont peut-être pas l'argent pour une école privée, mais je faisais attention dans mes cours. Les gens simples comme nous qui n'ont pas d'autre choix que de fréquenter l'école publique peuvent être intelligent et assidu aussi. L'argent n'est pas tout" Kurt said with perfect French.

Blaine watched him with wide eyes, much to Kurt's satisfaction. The kid had so much to learn.

"How…"

"As I said, money is not everything" Kurt said. "I went to school just like you and I was the best in my class. French is not challenge for me."

"Why are you a bodyguard then?" Blaine asked. "You could have had a lot better job."

"I had plans" Kurt nodded.

"What happened?" Blaine asked.

"Life" Kurt said shortly.

Blaine almost groaned in frustration. It was so hard to have a conversation with Kurt, he barely talked and even when he did, he stopped when he was about to find something out about him. But Kurt wasn't the only stubborn one here. Blaine would find out what was wrong with this guy, one way or another. He always got what he wanted after all.

They arrived just in time, so Kurt could talk to the principal but couldn't go to their room before the classes were over. The teachers didn't like it when they were late and if Kurt didn't want to tell them who he really was, they had to hurry.

"See? That's why I wanted to hurry" Kurt said as they made their way to the principal's office.

"Relax. You don't have much stuff anyway" Blaine said easily. "You can unpack your bag in the afternoon."

"I wanted to check if everything was right with the room" Kurt said.

"It's fine. I've been living there since my first day in this school" Blaine said.

"I was taking about bugs and other stuff" Kurt replied.

"Do you think that there are bugs in my room?" Blaine asked.

"Well, we won't figure out until this afternoon, right?" Kurt asked back.

Blaine sighed. Kurt could have told him what he wanted to do in the school so early, he would have hurried to give his bodyguard enough time to do his job. But Kurt hadn't told him anything, of course. How was he supposed to know things like that when Kurt didn't tell him anything? No one had ever searched for bugs in his room before.

"Let's go to the principal" Blaine said in the end.

Kurt wasn't surprised that the principal's office was huge just like the other rooms he saw in the school so far, with expensive furniture and paintings on the wall. The guy was probably well paid and the parents supported the school enough to allow the staff to have whatever they needed. Or simply wanted.

Principal Richmond was a tall, good looking man, with shiny black hair and bright blue eyes. He was wearing a nice black suit and expensive leather shoes. And he talked a lot. Kurt hoped that he was able to keep information for himself because he had to be the only one in the entire school knowing who Kurt really was. They couldn't tell anybody else. It was completely unnecessary and dangerous. Nobody knew who was after Victor and his sons, so it was better to be careful. Kurt would keep an eye on this guy but he couldn't watch every teacher and student all the time. He could ask Puck to make a research on them, though. It wouldn't hurt and it would give something to do to the others.

"Does anyone else know about me?" Kurt asked, interrupting the principal's way too long speech about tradition and other boring stuff.

"No" the principal said. "I thought it would be better to keep the information for myself."

"Very good" Kurt nodded. "You can't tell anyone, for Blaine's sake. Do you get it?"

"Could you be a little less rude?" Blaine whispered to him.

"I'm not rude" Kurt told him.

"You can trust me, Mr Hummel" the principal said. "I care about my students and want them to be safe. I won't tell anyone about you."

"Thank you, Principal" Kurt said. "Are we done here?"

"Well, I…"

"Very good. See you later" Kurt said without giving the man a chance to get into another long and useless speech. This guy talked so much. They were just wasting their time here. He wanted to check on the students before the first period began.

"Could you be a little less yourself?" Blaine asked as they left the office.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked.

"You can't interrogate my friends. They'll figure out that something is wrong with you" Blaine said.

"I'm doing my job" Kurt said.

"Your job is to play high school student" Blaine reminded him. "Be… cooler."

"Cooler?" Kurt asked.

"Yes" Blaine nodded. "You do remember what being a teenager is like, right? Try to act like one."

Maybe the kid was right. Kurt decided that it was better to relax a bit, so he could get close to the students and find out if one of them was after Blaine.

"Fine" he said.

"Thank God" Blaine whispered.

Blaine watched Kurt carefully as they made their way to the first class. He tried to prepare his friends for the new student, he told them about Kurt as much as he could, so it wouldn't be strange that an exchange student arrived out of nowhere. It would have been too strange, even stranger than the situation already was.

"Be nice. Please, be nice" Blaine muttered as they stepped into the classroom.

It wasn't a surprise that all of his friends came to greet the new student. They had never seen an exchange student before, they rarely met anybody new at all. The news that a boy from France came to their school spread rapidly, Blaine was pretty sure that everybody knew about it. And of course, they all wanted to see Kurt.

"Hey, guys" Blaine said.

"Is this him?" Jeff asked excitedly.

"Salut tout le monde! Je m'appelle Kurt et je suis très heureux d'être ici, dans la meilleure institution pour garçons de tout l'Ohio" Kurt said.

"Can you hear that?" Nick smiled.

"So sexy" Jeff nodded in agreement.

"Okay, that's enough" Blaine said quickly and turned to Kurt. "You don't have to overact it."

"They like me" Kurt shrugged.

That was the last thing Blaine wanted. He hated keeping secrets and he hated lying to his friends. He didn't want Kurt to get too involved in his life because it would be so much harder not to make a mistake.

"You can sit with me" Jeff offered.

"Seriously?" Blaine asked, not believing his eyes. Kurt was definitely not that hot. He spoke French, so what? It wasn't a big deal. He wasn't even a real French guy.

"Don't be jealous, Blaine" Jeff laughed.

He reached for Kurt's arm but the bodyguard shook it off immediately. Blaine gulped nervously. Maybe he didn't even have to lie about Kurt because Kurt would let everyone know who he really was in that moment.

"Sorry. Scared of bacteria" Kurt said. That was the common lie about his weird habits after all. Maybe it was enough to get rid of this annoying kid.

"Oh, I get it" Jeff smiled.

"So you are from Paris?" Wes asked as the boys led Kurt to his seat, Blaine completely forgotten. Well, not by Kurt. He still kept his eyes on the boy.

"I'm from Marseille" Kurt said.

"Is that a part of Paris?" Jeff asked.

"That's a different city" Kurt snorted. "France is not a city-state. There are much more interesting places than Paris. That's for snobs."

Blaine wanted to die. Yes, an assassin would definitely help him in that moment. It would be far better than explaining Kurt's weird behavior.

"He has problems with English" Blaine said. "He doesn't know what he's talking about. I don't think he got a good education back in France."

"I'm perfectly capable of…"

"Shut up" Blaine said quickly. Kurt would only make this situation worse, if that was possible. He had no idea why his father had thought that having him around would be good. He was safe at Dalton after all, he didn't need the extra stress Kurt meant in his life.

Luckily, the first class began and he was saved from the rest of the conversation. For now. Because he knew his friends well enough to know that they wouldn't leave Kurt alone for… the rest if his stay or so.

~ o ~

Blaine was exhausted by the end of the day. He wanted nothing but a long, hot bath in his own private bathroom, watching an episode of his favorite TV show and go to sleep where he could forget for a little while that Kurt Hummel existed. The man who made his life a living hell. Blaine had thought that Kurt would see that he only made his life harder with his comments, but the guy must be really slow. Whenever Blaine's friends asked something about him, Kurt answered with one of those nasty comments that told the boys how much he hated their kind – kind. As if they were different species, wow – and Blaine had to save him every time. It was exhausting. And if Kurt continued being an ass, he had to have a serious talk with his dad about him because he wouldn't be able to focus on his studies AND being the lead singer of the Warblers when Kurt was always around to ruin his repute. He had to get rid of him, just as he had thought the first night he had met the man.

Blaine groaned in frustration when Kurt grabbed his arm and pulled him back just when he was about to enter his room.

"What is it this time?" Blaine asked tiredly.

"I have to check on the room" Kurt reminded him.

"I've been living here for years. It's safe" Blaine rolled his eyes.

"Stay out here" Kurt told him as he stepped forward. "And don't go anywhere."

Blaine considered turning around and leaving while Kurt was busy searching for non-existent dangers in their room, but he was too tired to go anywhere. But he made himself a mental note that it would be a good game for later.

He wasn't surprised when Kurt came back a few minutes later, with empty hands.

"I guess you didn't find anything" Blaine said.

"No, I didn't" Kurt shook his head.

Blaine rolled his eyes again and pushed the man aside, so he could finally enter his room. He grabbed fresh clothes from his wardrobe and without waiting for Kurt to unpack his own bag, he walked to the bathroom's door.

"Where are you going?" Kurt asked.

"To the bathroom?" Blaine asked back. Wasn't it obvious?

"You can't go in there alone. I have to watch you all the time" Kurt said.

"No. Way" Blaine said slowly.

"But…"

"Absolutely not" Blaine said determinedly.

"And what will I do if you climb out of the window? Puck told me everything about your stupid pranks" Kurt said.

"We're on the second floor. Do you think that I'm stupid enough to try to climb down from here?" Blaine asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Do I have to answer this question?" Kurt asked back.

"You're not coming in here with me" Blaine said. He wouldn't let Kurt embarrass him. He already let his father decide everything else over his head but he wouldn't allow anyone to watch him while he bathed. He wasn't a small child anymore. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Besides, this whole situation was insane. He didn't need Kurt. "I'll sing to you if it makes you happy."

"Just not that" Kurt groaned. Blaine sang all the time. He had a great voice, he had to admit that, but he started to get frustrating. How could he sing all the time?

Blaine smiled at him.

"I'll sing you a song. It must have been a long and exhausting day for you, bodyguard" Blaine said and disappeared in the bathroom.

Seconds later, Kurt heard the first notes of another Katy Perry song. One of Blaine's favorites. He knew because he sang these songs over and over again, as if he didn't get bored of them at all.

"You have no idea" Kurt muttered. It was only his first day with the kid and he already hated the job. Blaine was just too frustrating, especially in such a high dose. He wasn't sure if he could stay sane beside him much longer. He had known that this job would be hard but hard didn't cover what living with Blaine Anderson was like. It was so much worse.

 **English translation of the French lines:**

 **"You know nothing about me, Blaine Anderson. My parents might not have the money for a private school but I paid attention in my classes. Simple people like us who have no choice but to attend a public school can be smart and diligent as well. Money is not everything."**

 **"Hi Everyone! My name is Kurt and I'm so excited about being here, in the finest institution for young men in all Ohio."**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I'm sorry for letting you wait for so long again. I'm working on three papers and two presentations right now and I completely forgot to update my stories...**

 **I guess you recognize the lyrics of Defying Gravity in this chapter. Yes, that means that our bodyguard sings. Are you excited?**

"I'm so jealous. You're surrounded by hot high school boys, in uniforms. I know how much you love that."

Kurt simply rolled his eyes and lay down a bit as he waited for Blaine to finish showering. In the past few days, he had learned that Blaine needed a lot more time in the bathroom than a normal person, so he didn't expect to see him in the next half an hour or so. He still heard him sing, of course. That was the way Blaine let him know that everything was fine in there.

It had been annoying at first. Blaine sang all the time, he also danced a lot, not only when they were alone but also with his friends. Kurt had found it weird, he had thought that it was crazy, but then he slowly started to remember his own high school years. Things had been so wonderful back then and he would never tell Blaine but he had done the same when he had been in glee club. When his future hadn't been decided, when he had believed that everything was possible. Blaine brought back those memories and Kurt was glad for that. He found himself smile sometimes when Blaine was in the bathroom and he listened to his voice. Blaine had a wonderful voice, so calming and clear. He was a talented kid. He sang those happy songs all the time and it helped Kurt relax a bit, too. He wasn't so tense anymore and since he made sure their room was safe, he was able to have some real rest during the nights, something that hadn't happened since the accident.

Kurt closed his eyes and just listened to the song Blaine sang. Katy Perry, again. Blaine loved that woman, he sang her songs all the time. Kurt started to get used to it, just like everything else Blaine related. It wasn't a bad song after all. Maybe they could sing it on the next competition they have. The judges would love it.

"Are you still there?"

Oh. Puck. Kurt forgot that his friend was still there, waiting for him to say something.

"Sure. Just checked on Blaine" Kurt said.

"How is he doing?" Puck asked.

"Fine" Kurt said. "I think fine. He's singing all the time. Is it okay?"

"Yeah, Blaine loves singing" Puck laughed. "He's a great kid, right?"

Well, when he didn't do anything stupid...

"He still tries to escape me" Kurt said. "I don't get it. He's 16, he should be able to follow orders."

"He's a kid" Puck said. "Just try to be nice to him."

"I am nice" Kurt said.

"You mean you give your usual self?" Puck asked.

"That's the best I can. I'm not here to be his friend. I have to keep him safe" Kurt said.

Puck sighed. Kurt knew what he thought about him but decided to ignore the man. He couldn't force himself to be somebody else, only because his friends wanted him to be different. That was what he was now, he couldn't and wouldn't change, especially not for a kid he barely knew. Maybe Blaine didn't like this situation but he could have had so much worse. He still had his father, his brother, he had friends, he wasn't starving, that had to be enough.

"You should try" Puck said. "It wouldn't hurt. Believe me, he's a nice kid. Just give him a chance."

Kurt said nothing at that. Puck might have been right but he didn't need more friends. He already had too many of them. He didn't need another person telling him that he should change his life, that he deserved so much better. He didn't want better. He had a job, he had enough money to survive, he didn't need more. He didn't need plans for the future because he didn't want anything from the future. Simply living was enough. And yes, always working was a way of living. That was what most people did and they didn't complain. That was good enough for Kurt, too.

Puck finally said goodbye, just in time. Blaine finally finished whatever he was doing in the bathroom and joined Kurt. Kurt watched the kid as he walked to his bed in silence. Blaine's hair was wet and finally free of gel. The kid used a lot of that thing to hide his curls. Kurt thought that it was a bad idea. Blaine's hair was naturally beautiful, it was so wrong to destroy it with all the hair products Blaine used. It didn't make any sense. Blaine was lucky to have so beautiful hair. Most people would kill it. But of course, nothing was good enough for Blaine. He couldn't appreciate how lucky he was.

"Tomorrow we're going to have Warbler meeting" Blaine told him. "The others have to meet you, too, and decide if you can join us."

"I have to join the glee club, you know" Kurt reminded him. "I have to be around you all the time."

"I know, I know" Blaine rolled his eyes. "You keep reminding me on that."

"Just in case you forget what you have to do" Kurt said.

"As if I could" Blaine muttered.

He still didn't like having Kurt around, but he would get used to his presence sooner or later. He didn't have another choice.

~ o ~

The Warblers met in a representative room hidden in the deep of the school. It was the first time Kurt was here but he wasn't surprised. He had asked Blaine to show him every single room in the building, so he could be prepared for everything, but the kid didn't take him seriously. At all. Sometimes Kurt wondered when Blaine would see how dangerous his life could be. Maybe if something happened to him… No, they couldn't get to that. Maybe he should just talk to Blaine again. Maybe he would listen for once in his life. Okay, that didn't seem likely in the near future.

"Silence!" one Warbler, the boy with the gavel said. Wes, if Kurt was correct. He had to read their files again. There were so many of these kids. "As you know, Sectionals is coming up and we are one man down."

"We should just pick someone. He doesn't even have to sing, right? Just dance in the background" another student said.

"I hope we don't have to get there" Wes said. "We have a new applicant and we all hope that his voice is as amazing as Blaine told us."

Everybody turned to look at Kurt is if he appeared out of nowhere. It made him really uncomfortable. Damn, these kids could be so scary sometimes.

"Kurt Hummel is our new exchange student from France" the boy beside Wes said. David? Right, it was David. He was also Blaine's friend and he was always around them. "We are excited to hear his song."

"Song?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"Of course. It's your audition" Blaine said.

"You never said that I had to sing!"

"You said that you wanted to join the Warblers. That's the only way" Blaine shrugged. "Good luck!"

"I'll kill you" Kurt hissed into his ear before jumping to his feet. What could he do? He had no other option, he had to sing. He had to be close Blaine all the time, so it meant he had to join the Warblers as well.

He closed his eyes, trying to find a song he was able to sing. It had been so long… he wasn't even sure he could still sing. Once he had had a great voice, he had been told that he was talented. Was he still able to sing like that? Well, he would figure out soon.

"Hi everyone! My name is Kurt Hummel and I'll sing Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked" Kurt said the first title that came into his mind. It was already said when he remembered how it had ended the last time. Okay, he had been able to sing the song but he had practiced so much to be able to sing the higher notes. Now he was completely out of practice. He was so screwed.

It was too late to change things, so he had to get over with it. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and let himself remember those times. When everything had been amazing, when his parents had been alive. When his father had stood up for him, helped him get a chance to sing. He was singing for him right now, for the most amazing parent of the world.

 _Something has changed within me_ _  
_ _Something is not the same_ _  
_ _I'm through with playing by the rules_ _  
_ _Of someone else's game_ _  
_ _Too late for second-guessing_ _  
_ _Too late to go back to sleep_ _  
_ _It's time to trust my instincts_ _  
_ _Close my eyes... and leap!_

 _It's time to try_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _I think I'll try_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _Kiss me goodbye_ _  
_ _I am defying gravity_ _  
_ _And you won't bring me down!_

He still remembered giving up his solo because his father had been so upset. The phone calls. Yes, there had been phone calls. The first time Burt Hummel had had to deal with his sexuality. And he had taken it so well. Kurt had never told him how proud he had been to have such an amazing father.

 _I'm through accepting limits_ _  
_ _'cause someone says they're so_ _  
_ _Some things I cannot change_ _  
_ _But till I try, I'll never know!_ _  
_ _Too long I've been afraid of_ _  
_ _Losing love I guess I've lost_ _  
_ _Well, if that's love_ _  
_ _It comes at much too high a cost!_ __

 _I'd sooner buy_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _Kiss me goodbye_ _  
_ _I'm defying gravity_ _  
_ _I think I'll try_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _And you won't bring me down!_

He had been so lucky. His mother had listened to his singing all the time. She had always known. She hadn't been surprised to hear that his son was different. But she had been the most loving mother, she hadn't been disappointed, not at all. She had supported him completely. And now they were gone… he had nothing but these memories. But they deserved one last song, the one Kurt had tried to sing so many times before but he had never been brave enough. So he wouldn't screw up this time.

 _I'd sooner buy_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _Kiss me goodbye_ _  
_ _I'm defying gravity_ _  
_ _I think I'll try_ _  
_ _Defying gravity_ _  
_ _And you won't bring me down!_ _  
_ _Bring me down!_ _  
_ _Ohh ohhh ohhhh!_

The silence following his song allowed him a few more seconds to gather strength for whatever he had to face next. He took a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes when he was sure that he wouldn't cry. No, not in front of these kids. They wouldn't understand.

"Oh, my God!" Jeff cried out.

"I know, I'm a little out of practice…"

"Are you kidding? It was perfect!" Jeff said.

Maybe he was right. Kurt had no idea, he wasn't paying attention at all.

"You're a countertenor" Wes said, his eyes so wide that Kurt couldn't decide if it was a good thing or not.

"Yes" Kurt nodded.

"We've never had a countertenor before" David said.

"We'll so win Sectionals this year."

"We'll win Nationals this year!"

"Please stay forever."

Kurt was confused. These kids looked at him as if he was a god or something. It wasn't a big deal, really. It was only one song, only because of Blaine. He didn't want to sing again, he would just stay in the background and let the Warblers enjoy whatever they did.

"It means that you're in" Blaine whispered as he pulled Kurt back down to the couch. He was the only one who wasn't smiling.

Blaine's mood only got worse as time passed. They stayed for another hour or so to practice new songs. Kurt didn't want to sing any more but the others wanted him to, so he had no choice. They also tried to make him and Blaine sing a duet but Blaine said that he wasn't feeling well and stayed on the couch the whole time, only watching them. When they were done, the Warblers wanted to stay and talk to Kurt, to let him know, but Blaine disappeared in a blink and Kurt had to go after him. He quickly said goodbye and ran after the boy. Blaine would never listen to him? He knew that he couldn't go anywhere without him.

It wasn't even easy to find him. Blaine wasn't in their room or the library or any other place they usually visited. Kurt started to freak out. If anything happened to the boy when he was supposed to keep him safe, Victor would kill him. Slowly, with his bare hands. And he would deserve it. It was his job to know where Blaine was, all the time. A bunch of kids shouldn't have been enough to stop him.

When he finally found Blaine, he sighed in relief. The boy was sitting in the garden all alone, seemingly lost in his thoughts. He didn't notice him until Kurt was close enough to reach him. Blaine jumped when he finally saw the man but when he realized who it was, he relaxed a bit. He didn't seem too excited to see Kurt, though.

"You left alone. Again" Kurt said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"I wanted to be alone" Blaine told him.

"You can't just run off like that" Kurt said.

"What can happen to me here?" Blaine asked. "Seriously, do you think that someone might get in here and take me?"

"Not impossible. Although killing you would be a lot more easier" Kurt said.

Blaine shook his head and sighed. For him, Kurt was just an another annoying person he had to tolerate because of his father's paranoia.

"Those are just letters. My father shouldn't take them so seriously" he said.

"Your mother was killed. Of course he's worried that something might happen to you" Kurt tried to reason.

"Do you think he cares?" Blaine asked bitterly. "It's not about me. He hired you because he doesn't want to deal with my problems anymore and it's easier to pay someone to do his job."

"Your father is a busy man" Kurt said.

"My friends' parents are busy, too" Blaine replied. "They still take their time to come to our competitions to watch them perform. My father never comes. I'm not important enough."

Kurt wanted to tell Blaine that he was wrong but he remained silent. It wasn't his problem. If Blaine was angry, he should talk to his father about his feelings and find a solution together. It wasn't Kurt's job to deal with his family issues.

"I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore" Blaine continued. "Now that the Warblers have their new star, they don't need me either."

"What are you talking about?" Kurt frowned.

"They love you" Blaine said. "Congratulations, Hummel. You're the new lead singer of the Warblers. That was the only thing I had and you took it from me. Now I have nothing to live for."

Kurt rolled his eyes. The kid could be overdramatic sometimes. Okay, most of the time. As if he cared about that stupid show choir.

"Don't be so dramatic. I don't want to be the star of your stupid show choir" Kurt said. "Why are you so upset anyway? I guess it was your idea to make audition, to humiliate me in front of your buddies. It's not my problem that your plan backfired. Next time you should just talk to me and help me instead of working against me. Like it or not, I'm staying. It would be a lot easier if you cooperated."

"I don't want you to be here" Blaine said.

"It's not your decision to make" Kurt said seriously. "Your father thinks that you might be in danger and he pays for me to ensure nothing happens to you. You should stop playing with me and let me do my job."

"Of course" Blaine shook his head. "I should do as you tell me, to make your life easier."

"Something like that" Kurt nodded.

"Well, that won't happen" Blaine said. He pushed himself up from the ground and stepped closer to Kurt. "You may have come to an agreement with my father but you didn't ask me what I wanted. None of you did. And I don't feel like I should cooperate. I'm not your puppet. I'm a person, I have my own feelings and thoughts. If you think you can tell me what to do and I'll follow your orders, you're wrong."

"Do you think that this is only a game?" Kurt asked.

"Do you think that it's more?" Blaine smiled. He didn't think that it was seriously, at all.

"You should grow up" Kurt told him. "People say that you're a smart kid. Then use your head and try to understand why we have to work together."

He hurt Blaine again, he could tell. But he would get over it. The kid was to used to having everything he wanted, somebody had to talk to him honestly. Blaine didn't appreciate his words at all. He pushed himself through Kurt and ran to door. Kurt rolled his eyes but followed him closely. He wouldn't let Blaine out of his sight again. The kid had to learn that he couldn't always get what he wanted. Freedom would come with such a high prize, they couldn't afford it for themselves, not now. Kurt had seen those letters, although he didn't know much more, there was a possibility that the threats were serious, especially after the death of Victor's wife. It was better to be careful. He knew better than anyone how painful it was to bury the people he loved the most. Blaine didn't know what it was like, he surely didn't even remember his mother, he didn't remember the loss. Maybe he was lucky and he wouldn't have to deal with such pain anytime soon. Kurt would do his part, the Andersons had to deal with the rest.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Here is the new chapter, I hope you like it.**

Kurt was surprised when he woke up to a strange new sound in their room. He usually didn't sleep too well, he couldn't trust Blaine, not even when he was asleep, but he must have been more exhausted than usually because it was clear that some thing had happened around him and he hadn't noticed any of them. He couldn't decide if he should berate himself for being so careless or ask Blaine about what the hell was he doing again, but before he could make a decision, he opened his eyes and the sight was simply too shocking to think about anything else.

Kurt pushed himself up in his bed and stared at the new object in the middle of his desk. Maybe this job was exhausting but he would have remembered it clearly. No, he didn't have such a memory. Somebody must have left it in his desk while he had been sleeping. It could only mean that…

Kurt jumped up from the bed and ran to the cage, checking it for possible danger. He tried to search the room for Blaine at the same time and only stopped when his eyes found the boy, leaving the bathroom in that moment, seemingly in a bright mood. It was always bad when Blaine was so happy.

"What the hell is this?" Kurt asked.

Blaine smiled at him and made his way to the cage.

"This is your canary" Blaine said as if it was all natural to find canaries on their desk. Okay, maybe it was. Nothing surprised Kurt in this insane place. "You seemed so exhausted, I didn't want to wake you up too early and since I can't leave the room without you, I asked the others to deliver him. I thought you would like to wake up to his chirping."

Kurt wanted to let Blaine know that he was only so exhausted because the boy made his life hell and the last thing he needed in the morning was listening to this annoying little being that didn't seem to shut up for a second, but he was so angry and shocked at the moment that he couldn't even talk.

"His name is Pavarotti" Blaine continued.

"Blaine, what is a canary doing in our room?" Kurt asked slowly.

"Oh, it's a Warbler tradition" Blaine said easily. "Every new Warbler gets a canary to take care of. He's yours."

Kurt opened his mouth but closed it again. He needed a lot of strength not to yell at the kid.

"A canary?" he asked since he couldn't come up with more.

"Well, we can't exactly keep warblers in here. I don't think it's legal" Blaine shrugged.

"A canary" Kurt said again.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Blaine asked.

Blaine was playing with him again. Kurt pressed his lips together and tried not to think about how badly he wanted to choke Blaine. Victor probably wouldn't appreciate it, canaries or not.

"Where's yours?" Kurt asked instead, surprised by how calm he sounded. He usually just yelled at Blaine when he did something stupid. It seemed like he started to get used to the boy's craziness.

"Uhm… He escaped" Blaine said, biting his lip nervously. "I guess I left the cage open and…"

"Oh, God" Kurt said, rubbing his eyes. It was way too early for this, he was tired and he needed his coffee, a lot. And the canary was still chirping happily, not noticing how much it disturbed Kurt.

"It was an accident, okay?" Blaine said.

"No, it's not okay. You should take responsibility for your pets" Kurt said and turned to look at the canary for a second. "This isn't okay either. I don't want a bird. Or any kind of pet. I hate pets, to be honest. Birds aren't supposed to be kept in cages anyway."

"This is a Warbler tradition…"

"No. This is rich kids being bored and doing something stupid again" Kurt said. "Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to drink my coffee and get dressed. Then we're going to take Papageno here…"

"It's Pavarotti" Blaine corrected him.

"I don't care!" Kurt shouted, losing his temper. "I won't keep him. I don't need anybody or anything else to take care of when I need to keep my eyes on you all the time, so you can't do anything stupid."

"Hey!" Blaine shouted as Kurt went to his desk and grabbed his phone.

"No more phone calls when I'm asleep" Kurt said. "I want to know about everything. And I'll handle the key to the door. I'll keep it closed for the night, so you can't come up with such a stupid idea again."

"You can't keep me locked up!" Blaine said, staring at Kurt in disbelief. Nobody, not even his rudest bodyguard had dared doing something so crazy before.

"I can and I will" Kurt said determinedly. "Talk to daddy if you don't like it. You should also tell him about the bird. And the audition. And every other time you made fun of me. I guess he'll love to hear what you're doing when he isn't around."

Blaine didn't say anything. Of course not, he knew very well what his father would say about his behavior. He would say that Kurt was right, he would only encourage his bodyguard to keep him locked up for the rest of his life, so nothing could happen to Blaine.

"Very well" Kurt nodded. "Get ready. We're leaving in five minutes."

~ o ~

Kurt was glad when the week finally ended and they returned to the Anderson house for the weekend. It also meant that he had a day off since Blaine spent the entire time with his family. As he learned from Puck, Victor's eldest son, Cooper came home for the weekend, and they didn't need so many bodyguards because they would spend the entire time home. It didn't mean they could go far, Victor could need them later, but at least Kurt could spend some time away from Blaine and that was enough for him.

"Somebody isn't in a good mood."

Kurt looked up from his tea to face the woman joining him in the kitchen.

"I wanted to be alone" he said.

"Well, that's something you won't be able to do here" Santana shrugged.

She took a seat on the other side of the table, seemingly not too concerned that Kurt didn't want her to be there. Santana didn't seem to be bothered by anything at all. She always did what she wanted and never cared about others. Or so Kurt thought. He hadn't had enough time to get to know her too well.

"I guess the kid is giving you a hard time" Santana said.

"You have no idea" Kurt muttered.

"Oh, I do" Santana smirked.

Kurt finally remembered that Santana had been Blaine's bodyguard before he arrived.

"I'm sorry for taking your job" he said honestly. He knew that some of them took their jobs really seriously and didn't like to be replaced, even if they only got a new job and weren't fired.

"Don't be" Santana laughed. "That's the best that could have happened to me. Seriously, I was ready to quit when Victor told me that he found another idiot to watch his son."

Kurt decided not to comment that.

"So you didn't get along well?" Kurt asked.

"Nobody does" Santana shrugged. "Blaine is… well, I guess you already know what he's like."

"I'm starting to see" Kurt nodded.

"You'll get over it" Santana said easily. "A few weeks or months and Victor will take pity on you. Blaine will get a new bodyguard and you'll work for Victor. Sometimes it might be a bit boring but it's a lot better than running after the kid all the time."

Kurt remained silent. He was already worried about his time with Blaine and Santana's words didn't make anything better. If Blaine was so hard to stand that everybody fled from him… He wasn't sure if he wanted this. He knew that he could lose his temper when he wasn't careful enough but he couldn't do that when he was working. Maybe he should consider leaving the Andersons before it was too late. He didn't need things to be more complicated than they already were.

~ o ~

"Blaine!"

Blaine sighed and looked around, hoping for a way out. An entire weekend with his brother… that was just what he needed. It wasn't like he didn't like Cooper. He was just too different. Probably because he didn't have to spend his whole life locked up. Maybe because their father had allowed him to do whatever he wanted with his life. Or simply because Cooper loved attention and having bodyguards around him all the time allowed him to get that.

"Hey, Coop" Blaine muttered as Cooper pulled him into his arms.

"I missed you so much, little bro" Cooper said, hugging Blaine tightly.

"New role?" Blaine asked. Cooper was an actor, although he wasn't a successful one, he got smaller roles in TV shows and his commercials were really popular.

"In a real movie" Cooper said excitedly. "Can you believe that? I'll win the Oscar next year!"

Blaine didn't think that Cooper would get any award at all but he didn't want to fight. He wouldn't get out of it too well, their father was always on Cooper's side.

"Son!"

Blaine rolled his eyes as his father walked down the stairs and went to Cooper to hug him. He couldn't remember one occasion when his father was so happy to see him. He didn't even come to greet him when he came back from school, although they rarely saw each other on weekdays.

"How are things in LA?" Victor asked his older son as he guided him towards the dining room.

"Still the same" Cooper sighed. "You know what my job is like. It can be really exhausting."

Blaine followed them in silence, deciding not to point out how lucky Cooper was. Their father supported him with a lot of money and let him do whatever he wanted in LA, although they both knew that Cooper would never be a famous actor. He slept with producers and got smaller roles but he wasn't talented enough for more.

"You can rest as much as you want" Victor said. "Are you staying for the next week?"

"I can't do that" Cooper sighed. "My manager called me yesterday. There's a role in an action movie that suits me. I'm going to audition."

"I'm sure you'll get the role this time" Victor said.

"Of course I will" Cooper said.

They sat down and waited for their dinner to arrive. Blaine zoomed out after a while, knowing that he wasn't missing anything important. It was always the same. Cooper talked a lot. He talked all the time, actually. And it looked like his father was more than happy to listen to him.

"I heard you got a new bodyguard, Blaine" Cooper said suddenly. "Again. You change those guys so often that I can't even follow it."

"Blaine needs someone who can watch over him at school" Victor said.

"And what is he like?" Cooper asked. "Is he as hot as they say?"

"It's nothing special" Blaine shrugged.

"I can't believe you got rid of that chick. What was her name? Oh, yes, Santana" Cooper said. "I would be happy to have such a woman follow me everywhere. And under everywhere I mean everywhere."

Blaine rolled his eyes again.

"I'm gay, Cooper" he said. "I'm not interested in woman."

"You'll grow out of it" Cooper said easily. "I know it's trendy but you'll forget it once you go to college."

"No, Cooper, I'm really gay" Blaine said patiently. They had talked about it so many times. His brother was too slow to understand, though, so Blaine had to tell him over and over again. Maybe one day he would be able to understand.

"If you say so" Cooper shrugged. "No wonder you don't want to be straight when dad gets you the hottest guys available in Ohio."

Blaine closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was going to be a very long weekend.

~ o ~

Kurt found the kitchen too crowded way too quickly. First it was just Santana talking to him but then a few more people followed her and it looked like they all wanted to talk to him. Or better, ask him questions about his new job. As Kurt found out, most of these guys had worked with Blaine before. And as they told him the details, he quickly found out that none of them lasted longer than a few weeks. Those who hadn't gone insane in a month were directed to Victor himself and became their personal bodyguards. It wasn't too promising. Okay, Blaine was… well, he was probably the most annoying kid in Ohio, but Kurt still believed that they would manage to work together somehow. Maybe he was stupid to believe that Blaine would accept him with time and they wouldn't try to kill each other all the time.

"So you were his first bodyguard?" Kurt asked the man sitting beside him with a beer in his hand. Kurt didn't like what he saw. They were supposed to be sober all the time because anything could happen and they had to react as quickly as possible. But it looked like he was the only one who took it seriously. Santana had offered him something stronger as well and when Kurt had said no, she had told him where to find the drinks in case he needed them later. Because, as she said, he would need them sooner or later.

"In this year" the guy nodded.

"Are you serious?" Kurt asked. He tried to make a list of people who had been hired for Blaine but there were way too many of them.

"This job is exhausting" another man said. "The kid escapes all the time. We couldn't sleep, we didn't have any free time…"

"So Victor replaced us after a while" Santana continued. "He needs us and doesn't want to lose his best employees because of his stupid son."

"You all hate him?" Kurt asked.

"Something like that" another male said.

"That kid was sent from hell" the first one said.

"It can't be that bad" Kurt said.

"You'll learn soon" the man muttered.

Kurt wasn't sure if he wanted to know what Blaine had done to these people. He already knew that Blaine was hard to handle and that he came up with stupid ideas in the worst moments. He was surprised that everybody hated him, though. Although sometimes Kurt was angry with him, okay, most of the time, it wasn't that hard to find the reasons behind Blaine's behavior. His mother had died, his father didn't have much time for him, he wasn't allowed to meet his friends when he wanted to and he couldn't go anywhere without somebody following him all the time. It was surely frustrating.

"You never tried to talk to him?" he asked, remembering the other day when Blaine had told him how badly it hurt him that his father never saw him perform.

"Why would we?" Santana asked. "It's just a job."

It was reasonable but didn't feel right. Kurt wanted to think like her, it would surely make everything easier, but he couldn't stop thinking about how it made Blaine feel. If everybody handled him like a temporary project leading them to something better, it was understandable why Blaine hated them so much. It wasn't like he wanted to be the kid's friend, he had already too many of them, but maybe he should be more patient with the kid. Maybe Blaine would cooperate if he saw that Kurt didn't want to get rid of him. Well, not as much as the others. He might feel bad for him but it didn't mean he forgot everything Blaine had done to him.

"Come on, Hummel, don't say you like him" one man said.

"We all know what this job is like" the other continued. "So… How was your first week? We're dying to know what he came up with this time."

The man put a beer down in front of Kurt, as if he believed that the man would drink it. Well, Kurt Hummel took his job seriously. Even when it was hard, when he wanted to quit, when he thought about choking the kid so many times, he knew that he wouldn't do any of that. It might have been a temporary job but it didn't mean he would do it halfheartedly. He also wasn't the type who made joke of others. The other bodyguards were wrong if they thought he would entertain them with gossips.

Without saying a word, Kurt stood up and walked out of the kitchen, deciding that he would spend the evening alone in his room, using the little free time he had to rest a bit and try to figure out what the real Blaine was like.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I'm sorry for the long delay. It's conference season again and my job keeps me so busy. I hope it'll be somewhat easier in October.**

 **I'll try to upload the next chapter faster because I know you want to read it soon after this one.:)**

It was only Saturday afternoon, a little after lunch, but Blaine already hated having his brother around and counted back time, minute by minute, until the weekend was over and Cooper finally left. His dad avoided him most of the time and he was used to spending his weekends in his room all alone, sometimes somewhere outside with his friends and his actual bodyguard, but playing family with his brother getting everyone's attention was simply too much. It was so easy for Cooper. He was funny and good-looking, he loved talking to people and people seemingly loved listening to him. Blaine wished he could be just like that, popular just like his brother, someone his father loved just as much. But he didn't. His father didn't have to say it, it was enough to look at him and Cooper, see how easy it was for him to be around his older son. He never acted so freely around Blaine.

Blaine decided to flee when it was time for Cooper's next big show. He loved acting, unfortunately, and never missed a chance to show everyone what an amazing actor he was and that Blaine was nobody beside him. That afternoon started like usually. Cooper asked him to practice with him for his new role but as it turned out, it was only another opportunity to prove the lack of Blaine's acting skills.

"No, Blaine. You aren't supposed to breath. You're playing dead" Cooper said.

"And I will be dead if I don't breath" Blaine pointed out.

"See? That's why you'll never be a good actor" Cooper replied.

Blaine had enough. He didn't want to play this game any longer, he just wanted to get as far away from Cooper as possible before he lost his head and punched his brother. Cooper definitely deserved it.

"Where are you going?" Cooper asked in surprise when Blaine got up from the ground and wlaked to the door.

"Anywhere. Just away from you" Blaine said without turning around.

"Come on, Blaine. Don't do this…" his father started but Blaine wasn't in the mood to listen to him anymore. He slammed the door shut and ran down the stairs.

He had no idea where to go at first. He wanted to be alone but he soon realized that it was impossible while having so many people around. It seemed like they were everywhere. The only safe place in the house was his room but his family would find him there in no time. No, he had to leave.

With a quick decision, he grabbed his keys, wallet and phone and walked back downstairs. He reached his car without trouble and sighed in relief when he shut the door. Finally, he was alone.

"Where are we going?"

Blaine jumped in his seat as his eyes landed on the face of a familiar man, sitting on the backseat of his car. What the hell was he doing here?

"Are you following me?" Blaine asked in annoyance as Kurt climbed onto the passenger's seat.

"That's my job after all" Kurt shrugged.

"How did you…"

"It was predictable" Kurt explained. "I saw that you were so close to punch that guy. I thought you would try to be alone as you do all the time when something bothers you and it was easy to tell that you would try to run. Again."

"How do you…"

"I pay attention" Kurt said quickly. "So where are we going?"

"WE are not going anywhere" Blaine said. "You're right. I want to be alone."

He waited for Kurt do make a move but it never happened.

"I said…"

"I heard you perfectly" Kurt said calmly.

"So?"

"So I'm not leaving, unless you come with me" Kurt shrugged. "That's how it works. If you go somewhere, I go with you. You should accept it."

"I don't want you near me all the time!" Blaine cried out in frustration.

"I guess you should go back to your room then" Kurt said.

Blaine didn't know what to do, he was so angry that he wanted to punch Kurt for not leaving him alone when he needed some time on his own so badly. He slammed his hands down onto the steering wheel in the end, closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"Fine" he said after a while.

"Are we going back inside?" Kurt asked.

"No" Blaine answered. "We're going to the mall."

Kurt watched the boy in silence as he drove, choosing not to point out that Blaine's driving style was far from perfect. He had to practice more to be comfortable and be able to handle sudden situations. He still admitted that Blaine was surprisingly calm, even in this state, and chose to drive slower than usually to avoid trouble. Maybe the boy wasn't that stupid after all.

"What do you want to do?" Kurt asked when they arrived. He got out of the car before Blaine and looked around. There were a lot of cars around them but it seemed like everything was fine.

"Go shopping, have a coffee… I don't know" Blaine said.

"Then show the way" Kurt sighed. He had a bad feeling that it was going to be a long and boring afternoon.

After a while, Kurt realized that staying with Blaine instead of having to talk to the other bodyguards was definitely the best he could have. Blaine was too upset to bother him, he stayed silent for most of the time and acted like Kurt wasn't even there. He walked from one shop to the other without waiting for Kurt. Kurt still followed him. He kept his eyes on Blaine all the time, knowing that the boy could get lost in the crowd so easily.

Public places like this always concerned Kurt. He had loved going to the mall in high school, being with his friends and going through the shops to find fashionable clothes. But it had been so long ago. Now the crowd only frustrated him. Knowing that Blaine might be in danger only made it worse. He had to keep his eyes open all the time and notice people who might try to hurt the boy. It wasn't convenient at all.

Blaine didn't seem to have fun either. He tried on several outfits and also bought some new clothes for himself but didn't seem to enjoy it at all. Kurt wasn't sure if he should ask him what bothered him. Maybe he should. Maybe all Blaine wanted was someone to talk to. Kurt wasn't blind, he had seen Blaine with his family. He also knew that Blaine didn't really like his brother. He didn't exactly know why, Cooper was a nice guy and they acted exactly like brothers. Or so Kurt believed brothers should act around each other. He didn't have much experience but he had imagined having a brother so many times. It must have been amazing not being alone in the world. Blaine should be happy he still had someone to love.

"You seem upset" Kurt said after a while, trying to make conversation with the boy.

"Because I am" Blaine muttered.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Blaine asked.

Kurt didn't know what to say. He still thought that Blaine was only a job, that he didn't need to talk to him more than necessary, but he couldn't not think about what he had heard from the other bodyguards the previous night, he couldn't make that uneasy feeling go away. He knew very well what being alone was like and even if Blaine wasn't really alone, he might have felt like he was. That small voice in his head didn't seem to leave him alone for a second, it told him that he had to talk to Blaine, that he had to give the boy a chance to show him his true side. And since it frustrated him so much, he decided to give it a try.

"Yes, I do" he answered.

"I don't believe you" Blaine said.

Kurt sighed in frustration. How was he supposed to help someone who didn't want his help at all?

"Look, I know that something is bothering and I'm trying to help" Kurt said. "So tell me. What's wrong?"

He thought that Blaine wouldn't tell him anything, maybe leave him with another unwanted comment, but it looked like, for the first time they knew each other, Blaine seriously considered talking to him about his feelings.

"It's my dad" Blaine said in the end.

"What's wrong with your dad?" Kurt frowned. He didn't see any problem there. Victor loved his son, that was sure, and he wanted the best for him.

"He doesn't love me" Blaine said.

Kurt blinked in surprise. How did Blaine come up with that when it was definitely not true?

"You're wrong" he said.

"You don't know anything" Blaine shook his head and turned away from him.

He could only take a few steps forward when Kurt grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Stop" Kurt said, surprising himself just as much as Blaine. "Tell me why you think so."

"Why should I?" Blaine asked. "You clearly don't understand."

Well, that was true. But Kurt was determined to find out what bothered the kid. It seemed like it was his 'help people who don't deserve it' day. This job brought some interesting changes into his life.

"Maybe if you tell me…" Kurt started.

Blaine sighed. He realized that Kurt wouldn't leave him alone unless he told him how he felt. He still didn't want to talk about it here. People were already staring at them and it made him uncomfortable.

"Let's have a coffee" Blaine said in the end. A break wouldn't hurt anyway.

"Fine" Kurt nodded. "But no funny business."

"With you around?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm just doing my job" Kurt muttered.

"Sure" Blaine sighed. He was just a job after all. He didn't matter. No matter what Kurt said, he was no different than the others.

Having coffee with his bodyguard was so strange. It wasn't like they hadn't had coffee together before, they usually ate together and spent practically every second of the day together, this one was still different. They were out in public and they were having coffee because Kurt wanted to know what was bothering him. Because he cared… Blaine shook his head. No. Kurt didn't care. He was simply curious, nothing more. So imagining that it was more than his job was insane.

Blaine still couldn't stop thinking about how wrong it was. He had imagined sitting in the mall with another boy so many times, but not like this. He imagined sitting here with someone who truly cared and loved him for what he was. He was in such a hopeless situation. With his father's job, he had no chance to get to know people, let alone someone who was gay and interested in him. His life was so screwed.

"Are you going to say something or just keep staring at me?"

Blaine blinked in surprise. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even realize that he was staring at Kurt the whole time.

"I'm sorry. I was just thinking" he said.

Kurt raised an eyebrow in surprise. It was the first time that Blaine apologized. That was definitely progress.

"What are you thinking about?" Kurt asked and raised his paper cup to his lips. He closed his eyes for a second and enjoyed the rich taste of his coffee. Blaine might have been just a spoiled rich kid but he had great taste of coffee.

"Nothing" Blaine muttered.

Kurt took a deep breath and tried not to point out how hard it was with Blaine. He wanted to talk in one second but didn't say anything in the next. Kurt never knew what to expect from him.

"I thought you wanted to talk" he said, satisfied with how gentle his voice sounded. He didn't even know that he could still talk like that.

"No. You wanted to talk" Blaine replied.

"Are you going to tell me or not?" Kurt asked, losing patience.

Blaine sighed and shook his head. He wanted to talk about his feelings but had a bad feeling that Kurt wasn't his best choice. But since he had nobody else...

"It's just… I know you don't believe me and you don't have to, but I'm right about my dad. He doesn't love me" he said quietly, feeling a stab of pain in his heart again as he recalled his last memories about his father and Cooper.

"And I already told you. You're wrong" Kurt said.

"Then why does he treat me so differently?" Blaine shouted suddenly.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Kurt said.

Blaine shook his head. Talking to Kurt was such a wrong idea. He was stupid like all of his kind. He didn't see it… of course he didn't. Because he didn't care.

"It seems like it's so easy for him with Cooper" Blaine said quietly. He wasn't sure if talking to Kurt would change anything. Probably not, but he had to get it out. "He's always so happy when Cooper comes home. He misses him when he isn't around. But he's never the same with me. We live together but we never spend time together, unless Cooper is home. That's the only time my father spends his weekend home."

"Your father is a busy man…"

"Well, it doesn't seem to bother him when Cooper comes home" Blaine said.

"Have you ever tried to talk to him?" Kurt asked.

Blaine didn't answer. He believed that his father should have seen that he needed him without Blaine telling him what bothered him. He was his father after all. Parents supposed to love their children. They were supposed to miss them enough to spend some time with them after the long weekdays. His father barely called him, maybe once or twice a week. That was nothing.

"He never comes to my competitions" Blaine said, trying to prove that he was right.

"Have you invited him?" Kurt asked back.

"Are you telling me that it's my fault?" Blaine asked in frustration.

"No" Kurt answered. "I'm only trying to make you see that it's not entirely his fault. That you should talk more."

"You don't understand a thing" Blaine shook his head.

"I understand them better than you think" Kurt replied. "Believe me, you'll realize one day that you waste too much time for being angry. That you should get the best out of your relationship as long as you can."

"What do mean?" Blaine asked.

Kurt sighed and looked down at his coffee. He wasn't sure if he wanted to talk about this at all.

"Let's say I lost someone I love so much and I wish every day that I could go back in time and spend more time with them" Kurt said.

Blaine watched him thoughtfully. He wished Kurt talked more. It would be so much easier with him. Unfortunately, Kurt didn't seem like he wanted to share his story with the boy.

"Do you miss them?" Blaine asked.

"Yes" Kurt nodded.

"I miss my mom, too" Blaine said.

Kurt was surprised that the boy talked about his mother. Blaine rarely talked about anything and never shared important details of his life. Maybe things were about to change between them.

"I think you should be more understanding with your father" Kurt said after a while. "It's not easy for him. Men usually can't express their feelings too well. I know he loves you, he's just…"

Blaine shook his head. Kurt would never understand. He was paid by his father and was on his side. Of course.

"I could use some more sugar" Blaine said as he raised his paper cup.

"Go ahead" Kurt shrugged.

"I bought you coffee" Blaine glared at him. "Don't you think it's your turn?"

"What? You want me to get you sugar?" Kurt asked.

"It would be nice of you" Blaine said with a very wide and very fake smile on his face.

Kurt watched him in silence for a while. Blaine was sure that he would say no, but then, to his surprise, his bodyguard stood up.

"Fine" Kurt said. "But stay here and don't talk to anyone."

"Yes, dad" Blaine rolled his eyes.

Kurt hesitated for a second but then he turned around to get them some sugar. Blaine didn't even wait until he got there. Once Kurt was far enough, he grabbed his shopping bags from the ground and left, disappearing in the crowd in the opposite direction.

When Kurt got back seconds later, he only found empty chairs and the two cups of coffee on the table. He looked around, frantically scanning the crowd for Blaine.

"Shit" he muttered. He should have known. Blaine loved playing these games with him and he gave him the opportunity to run away. He was so stupid. And now he had to figure out where Blaine was, fast. Victor would kill him if anything happened to his son, no matter what Blaine thought about the man.

Blaine smiled as he stepped out of the elevator and turned towards his car. It was so easy to flee this time. Kurt didn't even see it coming. It was enough to tell him a few things about himself and Kurt felt bad enough to make a mistake. Blaine knew he should have felt bad for tricking his bodyguard but he couldn't make himself feel bad at all. Kurt deserved it. Blaine had told him that he wanted to be alone but Kurt hadn't cared. Now he could walk home because Blaine definitely wouldn't wait for him. He would finally spend some time alone, maybe call his friends to meet them somewhere and only go home after dinner, so he didn't have to listen to Cooper too long. Yes, that was what he wanted to do.

Blaine looked down and reached into his pocket for his keys. It was only a second but he didn't see the two men coming in his direction, so he bumped right into one of them.

"I'm so sorry" he said quickly. He didn't need any trouble right now. He just wanted to leave before Kurt could find him. "I didn't see you…"

"It's okay" the man said easily.

Blaine almost sighed in relief but the words the man said next made his blood run cold.

"We were looking for you anyway, Blaine Anderson."

Blaine's eyes widened in fear.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I know it's been a while since I last updated any of my stories. The reason is that I've been really sick lately. I'm getting better, but it's a long progress. I'm still weak and in a lot of pain.**

 **I don't want to let you wait too long again, though, and I have these chapters to my stories already written and ready to be shared, so I thought this time would be as good as any other to upload them. It also gives me a reason to get up and do something else than watching TV shows. It's getting so boring.**

 **I hope you like this chapter.**

Kurt swore when Blaine didn't answer his call. He had no idea where the boy went but he started to get worried. Although he knew that it was fun for Blaine, he also knew that it could be dangerous. They were out in the public and Blaine was all alone… somewhere. Kurt stopped his search for a second and tried to think. Where could Blaine be? He surely wasn't stupid enough to go back shopping alone. That didn't make much sense. It seemed more rational that Blaine tried to flee, especially since he had the key to his car and the chance to go anywhere without his bodyguard. Yes, Blaine was surely on his way to his car. And he had left minutes earlier, so Kurt had to be fast if he wanted to get to the parking lot in time, because if Blaine left without him, Kurt had little chance to find him before Victor figured out what his son did this time. Kurt had a very bad feeling that Victor wouldn't be too pleased to hear that Blaine outsmarted him, again. That was completely unacceptable and Kurt was determined to correct his mistake.

He turned towards the stairs and ran as fast as he could.

~ o ~

Blaine took a tentative step backwards, trying to breath. He wanted to think that these guys were working for his father and only followed him to make sure Blaine didn't do anything stupid but he wasn't stupid enough to believe that. He had never seen them before, so it could only mean that they were here for a different reason. To hurt him.

"Who-who are you?" he asked shakily. "What do you want from me?"

He took a step backwards but they followed him.

"Relax. We don't want to hurt you" one of them said. "Come with us nicely and nothing will happen to you."

That wasn't too comforting. Blaine looked around, trying to find a way out. He tried not to think about how stupid he had been, leaving his bodyguard behind, coming down here all alone. He was so stupid. He should have believed his father, he should have known that he was right about being more careful… but it was too late. He was all alone and had to find out how to flee before it was too late.

"You're not going anywhere" the other man said.

Kurt. He would surely know what to do, how to get him out of here. Kurt was a trained bodyguard and he would be able to deal with these guys. Now that he thought about it, having Kurt around seemed such a good idea. Kurt meant safety. He had to find him somehow.

"Don't play with us, kid" the first man said and took a step towards Blaine. "We don't want to hurt you but if you try to trick us…"

Blaine didn't waste any more time. He tightened his grip on the shopping bags only for a second before throwing them towards the men with the most effort he could manage. Who cared about clothes when he could die? Nothing mattered in that moment, only that he had to get out of here and back to Kurt before something horrible happened.

He didn't wait to see if he managed to hit the guys with the bags or not, he turned around and ran. He didn't think about where he was going, only that he had to get away from the men and back to safety. There had to be a door to the stairs and he would find it. Yes, he finally remembered where to it. He was almost there…

Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind, strong arms sneaked around his chest and pulled him backwards. Blaine cried out and did his best to kick the man standing behind him but he failed. He was lifted off of his feet and carried away from the door he had almost reached.

"Shut up!" the man hissed into his ear.

"He's too loud" the other one said and quickly stepped back, out of the way of Blaine's legs.

"Help me" the one carrying Blaine said. He put down the boy only for a second, tightened one arm around the boy's chest and slapped a hand over his mouth to muffle his cries. The other man stepped forward and grabbed the boy's ankles to help his partner carry him.

Blaine was in full panic mode. The need to get away was so strong, he kept struggling, trying to free himself from the men's hold. He didn't know what they wanted to do with him but whatever it was, it couldn't be nice. Suddenly, memories of his mother's death came back, memories he didn't know were still there. He was so scared of what would happen to him, if he would share the same fate, if he would die at such a young age and found in a dark alley in the pool of his own blood. Panic rose again and he dug his nails into the arm around his chest, trying to make as much noise as he could manage. Maybe if he was loud enough, somebody would hear him and came to help him.

He was so stupid. Kurt had told him to be careful so many times but he didn't listen to him. He had believed that it was nothing more than a game, that his father was simply insane and nothing would ever happen to him. He had been so wrong. And now here he was, all alone, waiting for a miracle.

"Open the trunk."

Blaine opened his eyes and blinked a few times to clear his vision. That was the first time he noticed that he was crying, not that it mattered. He had other concerns, like the car beside them, the one that clearly belonged to his attackers. He didn't need more than a second to realize what they wanted to do and it just made him panic more than before. If they managed to get him into that trunk and drove off with him, he was lost. No one would ever find him. He would be dead soon, probably before the end of the day.

"Stay still" the man still holding him down hissed into his ear and tightened his grip on Blaine.

It hurt so much but it didn't mean Blaine could give up. There was still a glimpse of hope that he could get away and he had to hold on. If he had been brave enough to trick Kurt, he had to be again to get out of the trouble he caused for himself.

Just when he was about to give up, too tired to fight anymore, his attacker fell forward, bringing him down to the ground as well. Blaine was confused but there was no time to think, his arm was grabbed once again and he was pulled back to his feet, only to be pushed away again.

"Run" Kurt said as he kicked the guy on the ground and turned to hit the other one attacking him from behind.

Blaine blinked in surprise. He probably shouldn't have been surprised seeing Kurt here, he should have known that his bodyguard would notice his absence within seconds and come after him. It shouldn't have been hard to figure out that Blaine would head down here, that was the most reasonable thing to do and Kurt wasn't as stupid as the others he had dealt with before. He had still forgotten about him, too panicked to think rationally. But Kurt was here. He found him in time and he was going to save him.

Although Blaine heard Kurt clearly and knew what he had to do, he couldn't make himself move. He felt a lot safer around Kurt, even if it meant he had to be around the two men who had attacked him. He was scared that there were more of them and he would be caught again. No, he had to stay with Kurt.

Besides, Kurt was alone against them. He was a lot smaller than those two and it was a miracle that he managed to stay on his feet while fighting against the two men. Blaine thought he should help Kurt somehow, so the two of them could get away and cal for help or do whatever they needed. But then Blaine realized that he was completely hopeless. He had no idea what to do in such a situation. Although his father had insisted to learn self-defense, Blaine had thought that it was pointless because he would never need it. Now he knew how wrong he had been. If he hadn't been so stubborn, he could have helped Kurt. He could have done something instead of just standing there and watching his bodyguard.

Kurt didn't seem like he needed help, though. Although one of the men managed to hit him, it didn't seem like it bothered him at all. Kurt hit and kicked the men, not giving them a moment of peace. When with an especially hard blow he brought one man down and the other was forced to face Kurt on his own, he realized that he had no chance against the bodyguard. The man didn't wait for Kurt to attack him again, he quickly turned around and ran to the door of his car.

Kurt was about to run after him but he didn't notice that the other one at his feet gathered his strength again. So when Kurt made a move to go after the other man, the one lying on the ground kicked his leg, hard enough to make him fall.

Blaine's heart skipped a beat when the man turned around and looked straight at him. For a moment he thought that the man would go after him again and he wasn't sure if he was ready to run for his life. Just one look was enough to leave him frozen in place.

Kurt didn't stay on the ground long enough, though, and the man must have come to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to stand against the bodyguard on his own, so he chose to join his partner instead. Blaine's legs began to shake as they got into the car and drove off just as Kurt pushed himself up from the ground.

The bodyguard stayed still, his eyes on the car, breathing heavily. Blaine didn't know that he was trying to memorize as many details as possible to help the police's work. He thought that Kurt needed some time after the exhausting fight. He couldn't believe Kurt attacked those men, risking his own safety, only to save him. Kurt was nothing like the others. He was a hero.

"Are you alright?" Kurt asked as he turned to him.

Blaine didn't answer. He was so happy to be alive, that nothing happened to him, that he had Kurt in his life to keep him safe. It was insane, considering how quickly his feelings changed, but he didn't care in that moment. He didn't care about anything at all.

"Blaine, did they hurt you?" Kurt asked in concern as he stepped closer. The boy was unusually quiet and it made him worried.

Without warning, Blaine threw his arms around him and started crying. Kurt froze for a moment, surprised by the sudden move, but then he tried to understand how Blaine felt. He always had to remind himself that Blaine had grown up in a safe bubble and he hadn't had a chance to experience how dangerous life could be.

But it's over, Kurt thought. Those men showed the boy that safety didn't exist, not for him. It had to be a horrible realization. No wonder Blaine was crying in his arm right now.

"It's okay" Kurt said and put his arms around the boy. It felt strange but it seemed like that was exactly what Blaine needed. "I won't let anything happen to you again. I promise."

~ o ~

Kurt wasn't sure what kind of parental reaction would be normal in this situation but he was pretty sure that Victor wasn't doing the right thing. He had been standing outside of the man's study for about half an hour, waiting for his own time to come. He wasn't worried about being fired, he was more concerned about Blaine. The boy had been in shock on their way home, he hadn't said a single word and he couldn't help the police either. They had tried to question him but it hadn't seemed like Blaine understood a word. He had stayed close to Kurt the whole time and hadn't looked at anyone else.

To Kurt's surprise, Victor hadn't come to the scene to check if his son was alright. He had called Kurt and talked to the other bodyguards arriving to the mall but he had stayed in the safety of his home to wait there for them. When they had arrived home, Victor hadn't pulled Blaine into his arms, what Kurt thought would have been the appropriate thing to do. He had ushered his son to his study without saying a word, only telling Kurt to wait outside because he wanted to talk to him as well and then locked the door behind them.

Although Kurt didn't mean to eavesdrop, he heard everything clearly. It wasn't possible not to not hear everything because Victor was loud. It was pretty clear that he was angry. Maybe it was his natural reaction when he was scared but it was definitely not the right way to act around his son. Kurt pressed his eyes closed as he listened to the man, talking endlessly about how careless Blaine was and how stupid it was of him to run away when he knew exactly how dangerous it was. Blaine was unusually quiet the whole time, probably because he was tired and wanted to get out of the room as soon as possible.

When the door finally opened, Blaine stepped out first, followed by his father. The boy fled once he was free to do so, but Kurt still caught his quiet sob and saw the tears in his eyes. He wanted to reach out to stop him and ask him if he was alright but Victor was faster.

"Come in, Hummel" the older man said, motioning for Kurt to follow him.

Kurt sighed and stepped forward, his eyes on Blaine until the boy disappeared from his sight. He closed the door and stepped to the desk but didn't take the seat Victor offered for him. He wasn't scared of this man, he had never been, and now that he saw how he handled his loved ones, he couldn't even respect him anymore. Although Kurt knew that he should stay out of the Andersons' lives, he was angry for some reason. He didn't even know why. It wasn't like the kid was his friend or anything. He should be angry with him, it was Blaine who had tricked him after all, it was all Blaine's fault that he had almost gotten himself kidnapped. Or maybe it wasn't. Kurt remembered their conversations from earlier and after seeing how the father handled troubles, he couldn't not sympathize with Blaine.

"Tell me what happened" Victor said.

"You already know the details" Kurt pointed out. "There's nothing else to say. I made a mistake, Blaine made a mistake, but we both handled the situation the best we could."

Victor kept his eyes on him, probably trying to scare him, but it wasn't working. Kurt had seen too much in his life to be scared of Victor Anderson.

"It was too close" Victor said.

"I know" Kurt nodded. "I'll take full responsibility. If you want to fire me..."

"I don't" Victor said. "Although I'm not sure what to do with you two."

"You should be more understanding with your son" Kurt said before he could stop himself. He didn't know why he said that. It wasn't like he cared about Blaine… or maybe he did?

"What do you mean?" Victor asked.

"He's just a kid. He wanted to be normal, he didn't know what could happen to him" Kurt said, sighing heavily. "But now he does."

"And he needs to learn to be careful" Victor said.

"He needs his family's support right now" Kurt replied. "He was so scared. I guess he still is. The last thing he needed was you telling him what a mistake he did over and over again."

"It's none of your business how I talk to my children" Victor hissed.

"No, it's not" Kurt said calmly. "Although I suggest you to be nicer the next time. The reason Blaine doesn't trust you or believe that you love him is that you don't show the smallest sparkle of love towards him."

"Excuse me?" Victor asked, not believing his ears. Nobody had ever talked to him like that.

"Never mind" Kurt muttered. "I guess that's how you people handle things."

"As I said, it's none of your business" Victor said sternly. "You should focus on your job, Hummel. One more mistake like that and I'll be forced to fire you."

Kurt suppressed a snort. He was pretty sure that Victor wouldn't be too depressed if he had to get rid of him. He was wealthy enough to hire anyone he wanted and there were plenty other bodyguards out there waiting for that time to come.

"I'll keep it in my mind" Kurt said in the end. He didn't want to waste any more time for this man.

When he was free to go, he walked down the stairs at first. He wanted to go back to his room, have a shower and some rest. His body already hurt from the fight earlier and he knew that it would only get worse the next day. He wanted to use this little time he had to rest until he could. He had a feeling that Victor wouldn't give him a day off, especially after what he said in the study.

Kurt was almost there when he remembered the broken expression on Blaine's face. That he had been crying. That he had been quiet like never before. That he was probably scared and he had no one to talk to.

"It's not my problem" Kurt muttered to himself and reached for the handle.

He heard a soft cry and turned around. There was nobody else, he was all alone. He soon realized that he only heard it in his head. It was Blaine.

"Not my problem" Kurt said to himself.

The kid was all alone right now, he was probably still crying and he had nobody to comfort him. It was such a crappy feeling. Kurt still remembered what it was like, even if it had happened to him so many years ago. Had he become so cruel in the past few years that he simply closed his eyes and played deaf when it was about somebody else? His parents would be so disappointed...

"Fine" Kurt said in the end and walked back to the stairs. "I'll so regret this."

He had no idea why but he cared about Blaine. He could try to deny it but it didn't change anything. He wanted to make sure the boy was alright, even if it meant stepping out of his comfort zone. He had shut everyone out so many years ago.

Maybe it was time to let someone in.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I know it's been a while but the new chapter is finally here! I hope you like it.**

Kurt's legs seemed so heavy as he made his way upstairs. It still seemed like a bad idea, although that strange warm feeling in his chest told him that he had nothing to worry about. That he did the right thing. It was so weird. He had been pretty sure that his heart was broken and couldn't be repaired. So many years had passed without feeling anything and now a boy he didn't even like too much changed everything. It was confusing. Okay, everything Blaine-related was confusing. The boy himself was pure confusion, sometimes sweet and nice, sometimes a little devil who made his life hell. So Kurt couldn't be sure what to expect this time, he only knew that he had to check on Blaine because he wouldn't be able to go to sleep without knowing that Blaine was alright.

He stopped in front of the door and hesitated for a moment. He was glad that there were no bodyguards around, they would just ask questions, or worse, make fun of him. Or Blaine. Kurt still remembered that conversation in the kitchen. It had happened only a day earlier but it felt like forever. So much had happened in only one day. It didn't mean Kurt forgot what those people thought about Blaine. Although he didn't care what they thought about him, he wasn't in the mood to listen to their comments. He only wanted to get over with this and sleep. His body hurt more and more and he definitely needed some rest before the next day. He could never be sure what to expect from Blaine, he had to be ready for everything.

As he was standing there, he realized that those weird small noises were coming from Blaine's room. He frowned and leaned forward to press his ear to the door. It wasn't hard to figure out that Blaine was still crying. Kurt took a deep breath and knocked on the door. Blaine fell silent immediately, probably considering what to do. When he finally said something, his voice was small and shaking.

"Who-who is there?" he asked.

"It's me, Kurt" Kurt said. "May I come in?"

Blaine didn't reply. Kurt waited for a little while, hoping that Blaine would open the door but it didn't happen. Kurt sighed and opened the door himself. He worst scenario was that Blaine would send him away. He was already used to the boy's stupidity, so it wouldn't bother him. Blaine couldn't say anything to hurt him.

Kurt walked into the room, taking small steps but making sure he made enough noise. He knew how jumpy victims could be, Blaine would surely be scared of every sudden move or noise for a while. That was just how things worked.

He walked to the bed and looked down at the boy, sighing heavily. Blaine was still lying on his side, seemingly not caring about him. He wasn't really there, it seemed like he was deeply lost in his thoughts. He was crying, too. Not sobbing like before but Kurt noticed the tears on his cheeks. He kept his eyes closed and either didn't care that Kurt was there or didn't even notice what was going on around him.

"Hey" Kurt said quietly. He sat down beside Blaine and after a second of hesitation, he put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Blaine seemingly wasn't. He didn't reply but he was clearly upset. Kurt knew the feeling too well. He still remembered crying alone in his room without anyone understanding him. His father had been a good man but he hadn't gone through the hell Kurt had to. He had been all alone with his problems and it had been awful. He still remembered the fear and desperation of those days. He would always remember.

It was too late for him but he was determined to help Blaine. Blaine was such a happy boy, even if he complained a lot, he didn't have to suffer too much. He would get over this day as well, especially if he felt that he wasn't alone. At least Kurt thought it was so easy.

"You must be scared" Kurt said quietly. "It's understandable. Today shouldn't have happened."

"Why are you here?" Blaine asked. "Do you want to tell me what an idiot I am? Because dad already told me."

Yeah, that wasn't too nice of Victor but maybe he had trouble expressing his feelings. Now that Kurt calmed down a bit, he understood the man a lot better.

"He's just scared" Kurt said. "He doesn't want to see you get hurt."

"You don't know him" Blaine cried. "He doesn't care about me. I'm just a burden to him."

"Hey, that's not true" Kurt said.

"It is" Blaine said. "He didn't even want another child after Cooper. I was just an accident."

"Well, you're not the only one who was born like that" Kurt smirked. Blaine came up with that so many times, not that it changed anything. Accident happened, a lot more often than the boy thought.

"You don't get it" Blaine sighed.

"Well, I have my own ideas" Kurt said and pulled his legs up, taking a more comfortable position on Blaine's bed. He had a feeling that he would stay a lot longer than he had first thought. "He'll calm down, just give him some time. He's scared and angry."

"That I'll ruin everything?" Blaine asked.

"No" Kurt shook his head. "He's scared of losing you. And angry with those people who want to hurt you."

"He didn't even come to see me" Blaine muttered.

"Well, he certainly didn't expect you to run off and get to trouble" Kurt shrugged.

"So it was my fault" Blaine sighed heavily. He didn't sit up but pushed himself away from Kurt, still not looking at the man.

"Why did you do that?" Kurt asked quietly. He wasn't angry anymore. He only wanted to know why Blaine had left so suddenly when everything had seemed fine between them.

"I don't know" Blaine said quietly.

"I thought we had a great time" Kurt said.

"We did" Blaine nodded. "I just… I don't know what I was thinking. I guess I still didn't believe that things might go wrong. I mean, I ran away so many times and nothing happened to me."

"You were just lucky" Kurt said.

"So it was my fault" Blaine said.

"What can I say? It was stupid of you for sure" Kurt said. "But I'm not here to remind you that you made a mistake. It happens to everyone. I believe that you learned the lesson and you wouldn't do that ever again."

"I won't" Blaine said. "I… you were right. I can't believe you were right all along. It's so hard to believe that there are people out there who want to hurt me."

Blaine must have been incredibly stupid or at least incredibly young to think that it was all just a game. His mother had been killed after all. He should have known that thing like that happened. Especially in their family.

"Well, now you know that you have to be careful" Kurt said. "You don't have to be afraid, though. I'll keep you safe."

Blaine turned around in a blink. He pushed himself up from the bed and looked at Kurt with wide eyes.

"Did I say something wrong?" Kurt asked.

"No" Blaine said. "It's just… do you really want to stay?"

"Where would I go?" Kurt asked in confusion.

"I thought that you didn't want to be my bodyguard anymore. That you would ask dad for replacement" Blaine said.

"That's what the others did, right?" Kurt asked, remembering what he had heard the previous night.

"Yes" Blaine nodded.

"I'm not like them" Kurt said seriously. "Believe me, I've seen worse then a teenager trying to break free. You can't scare me away so easily."

Kurt yelped in surprise as Blaine threw his arms around him, for the second time that day. Although it was new, Kurt decided that he could get used to it. It felt quite good. He couldn't even remember when was the last time someone had hugged him. Probably before his father's death. Blaine was so warm, and when he wasn't his usual annoying self, he could be quite lovable. Kurt could have used a friend like him back in high school. Things would have been a lot easier for him.

"I guess you're okay with it" Kurt muttered.

"Of course I am" Blaine said. For the first time since the attack, Kurt could see the ghost of a smile on his face. "You're my hero!"

"I'm not a hero" Kurt said and pulled away. He tried so hard not to build those walls back around himself but he failed. Because he wasn't a hero. He had wanted to be one, all those years earlier. And he had failed so badly. He had failed the people he loved the most and now he was all alone because of that. Blaine couldn't consider him his hero because he would be disappointed in him, too. Who knew, maybe Kurt would fail again and then Blaine had to pay the prize.

"Did I say something wrong?" Blaine asked hesitantly.

"No. Just don't call me that" Kurt muttered.

The boy was watching him. He was trying to figure him out. But Kurt wouldn't tell him anything. No way. Not even his best friends understood him, a boy like Blaine who knew so little about the world wouldn't be able to help him either.

"Something is so off with you" Blaine said after a while.

"What do you mean?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You never talk about yourself" Blaine pointed out.

"Because it's none of your business" Kurt said.

"See? You're doing that again" Blaine said.

"Doing what?" Kurt asked in frustration.

"Why do you push everyone away?" Blaine asked.

"You don't know anything about me" Kurt said.

"That's right" Blaine nodded. "You don't tell me anything about yourself. Why is that so? Why don't you want to talk about yourself?"

"I already told you. It's none of your business" Kurt said.

Blaine sighed and turned his head away. He was seemingly hurt.

"Look, Blaine, I'm glad that you finally talk to me, but that doesn't mean that I want to share everything with you. We're not friends" Kurt said.

Blaine seemingly wasn't too happy to hear that. Kurt sighed heavily. He had no idea what was wrong with the kid. He only said the truth. Blaine was a nice kid but he knew nothing about him. He had gone through a very hard day, even if Kurt wanted to talk to him about himself, he wouldn't, not now when Blaine was so upset.

"I thought you were different" Blaine muttered.

Kurt bit his lip nervously. He didn't understand why he cared about Blaine so much but seeing the boy like that bothered him, a lot. But what should he do? He didn't want to talk about himself. He couldn't.

"You should get used to it" Kurt said. "I don't like talking about myself. You have to understand that."

"Maybe you should open up a but and let people in" Blaine said.

"It's not so easy" Kurt said.

"I know" Blaine said.

"No. You don't understand" Kurt shook his head.

"Really?" Blaine asked as he turned back to him. "You seem to think that you know a lot about me but you're wrong. Do you want to know why I ran off today? Because I knew that you wouldn't understand. You may act like you care about me but you're just like the others. You have your own thoughts about me and you don't want to step through them to see the truth."

Kurt sighed again. Okay, he might have been a little insensitive and he might have thought that Blaine was just a spoiled rich kid who knew nothing about the word and didn't care about anyone, but he was ready to open up a bit. He wasn't an asshole. He was here because he cared about the boy.

"My parents are dead" Kurt said suddenly.

Blaine's eyes widened in surprise. He was pretty sure that Kurt would storm out of his room instead of trying to talk to him, but then Kurt shared something of my his life with him, a very important detail, Blaine could tell. And he had no idea what to say next.

"Oh, don't look at me like that" Kurt groaned.

"I'm sorry" Blaine said quietly. "It must be hard."

"Being alone? I'm used to it" Kurt shrugged.

"I don't think so" Blaine shook his head. "I lost my mom, too. I know how bad it is. I miss her every day."

"I learned to live with it" Kurt said as if it wasn't a big deal. But it was.

"Is that why you're so cold?" Blaine asked suddenly. "You don't let anyone near you because you don't want to lose anybody else?"

"I'm not cold" Kurt muttered.

"You can't live like that forever" Blaine said gently. "Just look at my dad. He pushed everyone away after my mom's death and now it seems like a part of him is dead, too. I don't think he's capable of love anymore. He's just so…"

"I'm fine, thank you very much" Kurt interrupted him, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He didn't want to admit but Blaine was right. It seemed like the boy knew him better than anybody else. And it scared him. People usually just accepted him the way he was, quiet and distant, and it was okay. He still wasn't ready to talk honestly about his feelings. There was something in Blaine that made him talk way too much, though. And it made him feel better, whether he admitted it to himself or not.

"I don't think you are" Blaine said quietly. "I can tell that you loved your parents and losing them still hurts. You have to talk about it."

"It wouldn't change anything" Kurt said.

"Are you sure? Have you ever tried?" Blaine asked.

"Look, I appreciate that you want to help me but I don't need it" Kurt said. "I don't want to talk about it, okay? I don't even know why I told you about my parents. It's not like I need your pity."

"But maybe you need someone to talk to" Blaine said.

Kurt sighed in frustration. Coming here was such a bad idea. Blaine was seemingly fine and didn't need his presence if his biggest concern was Kurt's loss.

"I'm not here to talk about myself. I was just worried about you but you're seemingly fine" Kurt said and pushed himself up from the bed. "I think I should go."

He walked to the door and was about to leave but Blaine's quiet voice made him stop.

"Could you stay with me?"

Kurt turned around and looked at the boy with a raised eyebrow. If Blaine wanted to know more about his past...

"I just… I don't want to be alone right now" Blaine admitted.

"You have nothing to worry about. You're safe" Kurt said.

"I know…" Blaine muttered, looking away.

Kurt reminded himself that the boy had been through a lot and probably couldn't think straight. It was understandable. He could tell him that everything was fine and he had nothing to worry about, it wouldn't change what had happened to Blaine. He was probably still upset and only wanted to talk to Kurt about his past to not think about his own problems.

He sighed again and walked back to the bed. He sat down again but left some space between them. Blaine thought he was a hero – his hero, to be exact. It wasn't healthy. The boy had to realize that Kurt wasn't special at all. And until that happened, he had to keep some distance. They weren't friends. It was just a job for Kurt.

Was it? A small voice asked in his head. He decided not to listen to it. It was the one that had brought him here after all. He had to be careful with that voice.

"Are you scared?" Kurt asked.

"I know it's silly" Blaine said. "It's not like anyone could get to me right now. I just…"

"You've just learned how cruel people could be" Kurt nodded. "I get it."

"What…"

Kurt looked at him and waited for the boy to continue but Blaine hesitated.

"Just ask" he said encouragingly.

"What do you think those people wanted to do to me?" Blaine asked quietly.

Kurt opened his mouth to share his ideas with Blaine, but the boy seemed so scared, it made him stop. He never lied but maybe that was the right thing to do in this situation. Blaine was just a teenager, somebody who just started to learn what people were capable of. He should just skip a detail or two. It surely wouldn't hurt.

"I don't think they wanted to kill you" Kurt said. Blaine's eyes widened in fear. Kurt quickly continued, berating himself for being so insensitive again. "I'm… sure they didn't want to kill you. If you think about it, it's much easier to do it immediately than taking you somewhere else and kill you there."

Wrong words, again.

"Those people who want to hurt your dad need you alive" Kurt said.

"How do you know?" Blaine asked.

"Because I know that your dad cares about you, even if he… well, he expresses his feelings the wrong way" Kurt said. "And it looks like somebody else came to the same conclusion."

"What does it mean?" Blaine asked.

"It means that you have to be more careful until the police finds them" Kurt explained. "And I think you should learn some self-defence. It wouldn't hurt."

"I'm not sure I would be comfortable around more strangers" Blaine said.

Kurt looked down, biting his lip nervously. He had an idea, a crazy idea. He should just forget about it before...

"I can teach you" he said suddenly.

"Really?" Blaine asked hopefully.

"Uhm… sure. Why not?" Kurt said hesitantly.

"That would be great!" Blaine said happily.

"Seriously?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow. He still needed time to get used to the change in Blaine's behavior.

"Of course! I saw you in action and I think you would be a great teacher" Blaine said. "Besides, we spend a lot of time together. We can easily find some time to train. We could use the gym. Nobody would notice."

Kurt wasn't so sure but maybe Blaine was right and it could work. If they could train every single day, Blaine would quickly learn the basics.

"Alright" Kurt nodded. "We can start tomorrow. If you feel ready."

"I am" Blaine said. "I want to start as soon as possible. We could start right now!"

"I don't think so" Kurt smiled. "It's already late and you're exhausted. You should go to sleep."

"I'm not tired" Blaine said but the yawn that followed his words betrayed him.

"Go to sleep, Blaine" Kurt said gently. "Do you want me to stay until you feel asleep?"

"If that's not too much to ask for…" Blaine said hesitantly.

"It's fine" Kurt said.

Blaine seemed relieved that he didn't have to be alone in that moment. Although he was pretty sure that he wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon, his head barely hit the pillow and he was already asleep. Kurt didn't even realize that he was smiling as he watched the boy. He wasn't surprised that Blaine passed out so easily. It had been a long and eventful day, it was a wonder that Blaine had stayed awake so long. Kurt checked the time on his watch and than turned back to watch the boy. He couldn't stay here too long, people would find out and ask stupid questions, or worse, they would make assumptions. He didn't need any of them. But he was afraid that Blaine would have nightmares and didn't want to leave him alone. He would just stay here for a little while and go back to his own room before dawn when most people in the house were sleeping. He could sneak back downstairs without anybody noticing him.

Kurt sighed and moved closer to Blaine. He had no idea how their relationship would change but he hoped that they would be fine. Who knew, maybe one day he would be ready to share more details of his life with Blaine. For some stupid reason, he definitely wanted to. He still didn't understand why or how but Blaine found a way to his heart. If it was good or bad, he couldn't decide. But he had enough time to figure out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I'm sorry you had to wait so long for the new chapter. This month has been a disaster... Okay, let's be honest, this entire year has been a disaster for me. But things are going to change, so let's be positive!**

 **It's winter break for my daughter and that means two weeks off of work. For real this time. It also means that I have more time for my stories and I hope I'll be able to post the new one a lot faster. I'm eager to write something that doesn't include people from the previous centuries.:)**

 **I hope you like this chapter. Merry Christmas!**

"How did you lose your parents?"

Kurt sighed and tried to ignore the question. He had thought that Blaine would be quiet for a while, that he needed time to get over the incident at the mall. Apparently, it seemed like he was wrong. Very-very wrong. It wasn't like Blaine was completely himself. He didn't spend much time alone, only when he was in his own room. Even then he often asked Kurt to stay with him for a little while, so he knew that everything was fine. He was a lot nicer to Kurt, and the bodyguard appreciated the change in the boy's behavior. It was a lot easier with him now that he didn't have to keep his eyes open all the time. Or at least not because of Blaine's stupid games.

When his father was around, though… Blaine was completely different. There had been a huge fight the morning after the incident. Blaine's brother, Cooper hadn't been too understanding and when he had started his speech about how irresponsible Blaine had been and how worried he had made their father, Blaine had been unable to hold himself back. The boys had gotten into a fight that had been ended by their father. Kurt had hoped that something would change after what he had told Victor, but the Andersons were too stubborn. They had gotten nowhere that day. Or the next one. Or the next one.

So Blaine simply ignored his father and avoided him if it was possible. They still went home for the next weekend and Kurt thought that they had had enough time to cool off, that everything would be back to normal, but everything became so not normal in the end. Blaine didn't even talk to his father when they arrived, he simply walked upstairs to hide in his room. Victor didn't seem like it bothered him either. Kurt watched them in disbelief. He knew very well how important family was, that Blaine and his father should get over their misunderstandings and finally appreciate what they had. Who knew how much time they had left to be together. They should just sit down and talk.

Kurt shared his thoughts with Blaine, hoping that the boy would listen to him this time. Unfortunately, Blaine acted like he didn't even hear him and started asking questions instead. Kurt berated himself for getting into the Andersons' business again. It wasn't his job after all. He tried to be a little more open but only because he spent a lot of time with Blaine and it was the best for both of them. He had to remind himself that they weren't friends, that Blaine was old enough to decide what he wanted and Kurt had no say in his life. Just like Blaine had nothing to do with his own.

"You don't have to know" Kurt said in the end.

"Come on. You can trust me" Blaine said.

Trust… Sure. Just like he had trusted people before. People who had betrayed him so badly.

"I don't want to talk about it" Kurt said.

"I think you do" Blaine said. "That's why you're always so gruff. Because you're sad but you think you have nobody to talk to."

"You think you know how I'm feeling but you're wrong" Kurt said.

"I think I know more about your pain than most people do" Blaine replied.

Kurt closed his eyes and did his best not to yell at the kid. Blaine didn't mean any harm, he only didn't know when he should shut up. Or who he should talk to.

"Have you talked to your dad?" Kurt asked suddenly. He knew the answer, of course, but he wanted to change topic. Preferably as soon as possible.

"No" Blaine answered simply. "Was it an accident?"

"It doesn't matter" Kurt muttered.

"I don't think it was" Blaine said, as if talking to himself. "No, I think it was something a lot worse. Cancer?"

"Could you just leave me alone?" Kurt asked in frustration.

"As I already told you, I think you should talk about it" Blaine said. "It definitely bothers you. When did it happen? Was it a long time ago?"

"Is there a way to shut you up?" Kurt asked, not believing that he would get a proper answer.

"I must have happened a few years ago" Blaine continued. "You were still a kid, right?"

"I told you, I don't want to talk about it" Kurt said slowly. Blaine seemed to know an awfully lot about him and it started to scare him. Nobody really knew him, that was how had learned to live his life. The fact that Blaine seemed to see things nobody else did made him worried.

"It must have been awful" Blaine said quietly. "You don't have siblings either, right? So you were left all alone."

"Seriously, why do you want to know so badly?" Kurt asked.

"Because I care about you" Blaine answered as if it was so natural. "Why don't you want me to know?"

"Because I don't talk about my parents" Kurt said.

"Never?"

"Never."

"It doesn't solve your problem, you know" Blaine said.

"Look who says that! The boy who doesn't talk to his dad at all" Kurt snorted.

"Because I'm still angry" Blaine replied. "I will talk to him. Sooner or later. Maybe better later. I want him to see that he really hurt me this time."

"It won't change anything. You're just losing precious time with your family" Kurt said.

"And here we are again" Blaine said. "So you're still depressed because you lost your parents."

"Not again…"

"Have you seen a therapist? My dad made me see one when my mom died and it helped me. Not much, but I felt somewhat better after my sessions" Blaine said.

Was there a mute button on him? There had to be one...

"I did. And it helped nothing at all" Kurt answered.

"Maybe you should try again…"

"Maybe we should stop talking about me and focus on our job" Kurt said impatiently. "Or are you scared?"

"Why would I be?" Blaine asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Kurt smirked. Blaine turned red so quickly, he could tell that the boy felt uncomfortable.

"Don't worry. I won't kick your ass right the first time" Kurt said. "Maybe tomorrow."

He had promised Blaine to teach him how to defend himself. He had waited for a little while after the attack to see how it affected Blaine but since the boy seemed fine, they could start training. They had no time to waste after all. If those guys had tried to take Blaine once, they would try it again. It was better to be prepared. The only problem was that Blaine seemed to be unable to hurt anyone. It was strange. With his big mouth, Kurt expected him to be an easy case.

"Come on. Hit me" Kurt said.

He tried so hard not to snort as Blaine approached him. He hesitated, again. Like he had before. Kurt had easily subdued him then and Blaine, probably to make Kurt forget about his embarrassing attempt to attack the bodyguard, had started to ask questions about Kurt's family. This time, though, Kurt wouldn't let him get away so easily. Blaine had to learn the basics, so he would be able to defend himself if necessary.

"Do I really have to?" Blaine asked in a small voice.

"I'll be fine" Kurt said. He wanted to laugh so badly but he had a feeling that Blaine wouldn't appreciate it.

Blaine took a deep breath and raised his fist. He was so slow that Kurt didn't even have to move from his place when Blaine finally attacked. He easily grabbed the boy's wrist, twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him away.

"Hey!"

"You're too slow" Kurt said. "You think too much."

"It's harder than it seems" Blaine said.

"No, it's not" Kurt said. "You're fighting for your life. Do you remember how you felt when those guys grabbed you?"

Blaine turned pale in a blink. Of course he remembered. How could he forget? He had never been so scared in his whole life.

"It's okay to be scared" Kurt said calmly. "It's wuite good, actually. It makes you stronger."

"I'm not strong at all" Blaine said.

"Why don't you believe in yourself?" Kurt asked.

"Because I'm hopeless?"

"Who said that?"

Blaine sighed and turned his head away. Kurt gave himself a second to take a deep breath and come up with something that didn't include how awfully lot Blaine thought about his miserable life. It wouldn't take them anywhere.

"Trust your instincts" Kurt said and took a step forward. "What would you do if someone attacked you?"

"Run" Blaine said without hesitation.

"That's not a bad idea" Kurt nodded.

"So you think I should skip these lessons and jog more?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I never said that" Kurt shook his head. "You won't get away so easily."

"Just when I thought I could get rid of you…" Blaine sighed. Kurt could tell that he was just joking.

"Hit me" Kurt said.

"I'm not sure…"

"You have to get over the fear or whatever is holding you back and fight" Kurt said seriously. "Hit me. Come on."

Blaine took a step forward but did nothing else. Kurt gave him another second to do something but nothing happened. Blaine didn't take him seriously. At least not enough. And that wouldn't help him if someone attacked him again.

"If that's what you want…" Kurt whispered before surging forward.

Subduing Blaine again was so easy. Kurt easily grabbed the boy and slammed him down onto the mattress.

"Hey!"

"I told you to hit me" Kurt said.

Blaine tried to stand up but Kurt grabbed his shoulders and kicked his legs, so Blaine found himself lying on the mattress once again.

"It's not fair!" Blaine shouted as he finally stood up again.

"Life isn't fair, Blaine" Kurt said. The boy was getting angry. Good. That was what Kurt wanted.

"If you think I'll learn how to…"

Kurt reached for Blaine's arm again but the boy jumped out of his way. He turned quickly and when he got behind Kurt, he raised his hand to hit the man. Kurt caught his arm just in time before Blaine could hit him.

"Not bad but you have to be faster" Kurt said and pushed Blaine back again.

The boy groaned in frustration and surged forward again. Although he had no chance against Kurt who easily got out of his way this time, he was getting closer. He seemed more determined than before. It was a good sign.

"I'm getting bored" Kurt said. He finally found a way to make Blaine work harder. By making him angry. At least he finally took him seriously.

Blaine stopped for a moment to think. Kurt was fast and strong, but he had to have a weakness. Blaine only had to find out what it was. It wasn't as easy as he thought. Kurt knew what to look for but Blaine was all new in this. He only guessed that Kurt's legs could be weaker since he mostly used his hands against him. It didn't mean he couldn't be wrong, but he had to try.

"So?" Kurt crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Are you going to attack me or…"

Blaine imagined how gracefully he would lunge at Kurt, make him believe that he wanted to punch him and when Kurt raised his arms to defend himself, he would kick his leg and send him down onto the mattress. Unfortunately, he didn't work too much on the details in his head, so when it was time to actually kick Kurt, Blaine was simply too slow to do anything. He raised his leg too late, when Kurt knew exactly what he was going to do. He grabbed Blaine's ankle and kicked out his other leg from under him. Blaine found himself once again lying on the mattress.

"Not bad" Kurt said.

"Really?" Blaine asked miserably. He felt completely hopeless.

"Well, the idea wasn't bad but you're still too slow" Kurt declared. "How often do you work out?"

"As often as you see me" Blaine answered.

"You mean…"

"Almost never" Blaine admitted.

"You have to take better care of your body" Kurt said, shaking his head.

Blaine looked down. Sure, he had a small belly, he loved eating, but he was still young and had a lot of time to get in a better shape. He was a teenager, he had a lot more important things to do than wasting his time for working out.

"Tomorrow, we'll go out to run" Kurt decided. "At 5. So you'll have enough time to shower and change clothes before your first class."

"You mean 5 in the morning?" Blaine asked with wide eyes.

"A good run is the best way to start your day" Kurt nodded.

"There's no way I'll wake up at 5. On Monday" Blaine said. He hoped that Kurt was joking. Only Kurt never joked.

"I'll kick you out of bed in time, don't worry" Kurt said easily.

Blaine waited for him to say that he was just kidding, but Kurt seemed serious, like all the time. Blaine had no choice, he had to come up with an excuse, fast, or Kurt would really wake him up in the morning. Blaine wouldn't give up that little time he had for sleeping, definitely not for a training with Kurt, not even if there were assassins after him. He would die first.

"Ah, I see you're busy."

Blaine's thoughts were interrupted by the sudden voice. The voice that belonged to his father. Blaine didn't need much time to recognize it. He turned to look at the man in surprise. His dad rarely came down here, and if he was here it meant that he was searching for them. For him.

"I'm sorry for interrupting but I would like to have a word with my son" Victor said as he walked to them.

"We're done" Blaine said. "I have to do my homework for tomorrow, so if you excuse me…"

"Blaine, we need to talk."

"I don't think so" the boy said and quickly left, before his father had a chance to tell him what he wanted. Blaine was still angry with him and didn't want to hear what his father wanted to say. He would tell him that he was stupid again. No, he didn't need that.

"Blaine…"

But Blaine was already gone. Kurt watched the older man in silence. He expected him to go after Blaine but Victor only sighed and shook his head.

"It's so hard with him" Victor muttered.

"He's still angry" Kurt said. It wasn't like he wanted to tell the man what to do but Victor expected him to say something and that was all he could come up with.

"I know" Victor nodded. "What should I do?"

Kurt watched him in silence, unable to decide if the question was really addressed to him. He knew close to nothing about kids, especially Blaine.

"I think you can help me" Victor explained. "It seems like you have a good relationship with my son. You understand him better than I do."

"Do you really think so?" Kurt asked with wide eyes.

"Yes" Victor said without hesitation. "I don't know how you do it, but he trusts you more than anybody else. I…"

Kurt watched the man as he walked to the chair and sat down, seemingly deep in his thoughts.

"What's wrong?" he asked. He felt so uncomfortable. Not because he was scared of Victor but because the man thought he could help him with his family problems. Kurt so didn't want to be involved in the Andersons' business. He helped Blaine, sure, but only because he felt bad when the boy was upset.

"I have no idea what to do" Victor said. "You were right the other day. I overreacted. I shouldn't have yelled at Blaine when he was so upset and I'm really trying to make things better but…"

Victor sighed and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm so scared" he continued. "I'm doing my best to keep him safe but it seems so useless."

"Don't say that" Kurt said. "Nothing happened to Blaine. He's fine."

"For how long?" Victor asked quietly.

Kurt wasn't sure if the man blamed him for the attack or was just worried about his son. Probably the latter. Maybe Victor Anderson wasn't the heartless man everybody knew.

"Mr Anderson, I assure you, I won't let anyone hurt Blaine again" Kurt said. It wasn't like he hadn't thought about how things could have gone. What he should have done differently to save him from the attack. But he always came to the conclusion that he couldn't have done anything better. Blaine had tried so hard to escape him, it was a miracle that he had been able to keep his eyes on him all the time.

"It's not that" Victor said. "I know that you do a good job and I'm glad that Blaine accepted you. You're the first bodyguard he accepts, you know? I think he likes you."

Kurt smiled. It was good to hear from someone that Blaine didn't hate him. He knew it deep inside, of course, but hearing it was different. It warmed his heart. Maybe Blaine was annoying but he liked the kid.

"I'm still worried that something might happen to him, even now that he understands that the threats are real" Victor continued. "I'm scared that I won't be able to keep him safe. That I'll lose him like I lost my wife."

Kurt looked around nervously. He was worried that Victor might tell him more about the death of his wife and he should say something reassuring. He wasn't good in such things. Damn, he wasn't good in any kind of conversations at all. Luckily, Victor didn't seem to be ready to share the details of his wife's death with him, much to Kurt's relief.

"You should talk to him" Kurt said. He wanted to return to a much safer topic and Blaine seemed to be a good one. "He's lonely, I guess. And scared. He also thinks that you're angry with him. I think you should make things clear before it's too late."

Maybe it sounded a little too dramatic but it seemed like Victor listened.

"How?"

Kurt almost groaned in frustration. Did he look like a counselor? Because he certainly wasn't one. Victor must have known very little about him if he thought that Kurt could give him a good advice.

"Just talk. Tell him how you feel" Kurt said simply, hoping that it was enough and the older man would finally leave him alone with his problems and to something on his own. How could a seemingly strong man be so weak, he had no idea. "Maybe he says that he doesn't want to see you but that's a lie. He misses you."

Victor looked up from his hands and smiled. So that was what he wanted to hear. Good. Now he only had to do something that didn't include Kurt's help.

"I hope you're right" Victor said.

"Of course I am. Go" Kurt said.

Victor nodded and stood up. Kurt was surprised that the man accepted everything he said so easily. He was such a stubborn man, just like his son. Most of his employees were scared of him for a good reason. But Victor was so different around Kurt. Maybe because he knew that Kurt never cared about what Victor thought about him or what the man would do if Kurt did something wrong. Since he didn't care about anything, he talked openly, and it looked like Victor appreciated it. Even if sometimes it turned into a fight.

That's not completely true, a little voice said in his head as he watched Victor leave. That you don't care about anything. Or anyone. You care about him.

Well, yes, Blaine was different. Kurt had felt differently about him before the big change in their relationship, but it only got better now that Blaine didn't push him away anymore. Kurt wondered what it meant. He was still scared of getting hurt again but the hope that Blaine might bring light into his dark life was stronger. He felt… What was that feeling? Happiness? He wasn't sure. But he felt something pleasant when Blaine was around and now that he got more and more of that feeling, he didn't want to ignore it anymore. After so many years of grief, he truly wanted to be happy again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Happy New Year! I hope you'll have a wonderful year and you can leave everything that bothered you in 2018 behind!**

 **Blaine and his dad finally talk in this chapter. How it works, well... let's find out!**

 **Sadly, there's no Kurt in this chapter, but the next one is practically all about him.**

 **I hope you like this chapter. Please let me know what you think.**

Blaine wasn't surprised when he heard the knock on his door. He read Kurt a lot better now that he started to get to know him. He knew what his reaction would be. Of course he came to check on him now that he thought that Blaine was upset. It wasn't like the situation with his father didn't bother him anymore, but he couldn't say that it affected him too much either. He was used to not having his father around and although he was quite loud about missing him, he was slowly getting to the discovery that he didn't need his father anymore. He was almost grown up, he would graduate and move out soon. He would go to college and maybe never look back. If he was lucky, of course. His father still wanted him to take over his business, but he had Cooper. He didn't need Blaine when he loved his older son so much better. They both knew that that was the case. Cooper was just the perfect child in Victor's eyes, so it was time to ask him to move back home and help their father. So Blaine would be free. And they would be all happy.

Blaine got up from the bed and checked his reflection in the mirror. If it was Kurt, and he knew that it was Kurt on the other side of the door, he had to give his best. He couldn't let Kurt see his messy hair because… Okay, he had no idea why. It wasn't like Kurt hadn't seen him with messy hair before, only Blaine hadn't cared then. But now he did, for a reason he couldn't explain. He wanted to look nice when Kurt was around.

When he made sure that his hair was fine, he walked to the door and opened it with a wide smile on his face. It quickly disappeared when he realized that it wasn't Kurt standing in front of him, though. It was his father.

"I'm working on my homework" Blaine said and reached for the handle to slam the door into his father's face.

"Wait" Victor said and grabbed the door before his son could close it. "We need to talk."

"I don't want to talk, Dad" Blaine said. "Shouldn't you be elsewhere? Calling Cooper to make sure he's fine, for example?"

He could see the pain in his father's eyes but he didn't really care. He still remembered how his father had acted the previous weekend, how he had talked to him when he had needed his comfort so much. He didn't care about what Kurt said, he didn't want to talk and he definitely didn't want to make things better. Why should he? Just because it would make his father feel better? It didn't matter if his father was feeling guilty. He should be after all.

"Look, I know that you're still angry and that's totally understandable" Victor said, his voice calmer than ever. It caught Blaine by surprise. It was so easy to anger his father. "I… may I come in? I want to talk about this privately."

Blaine sighed. He wanted to say no but he knew that he wouldn't get rid of his father so easily. He could also see two of their bodyguards standing on the corridor and he didn't want to talk more in their presence. Blaine knew very well what they thought about him, he didn't want to give them another topic to discuss later that night. Because he knew exactly what was going on in the kitchen when they were supposed to be in their rooms. The bodyguards gathered there when their shifts were over and talked about them. Well, mostly him. And they said nothing good about him.

"Fine" he said in the end and turned back around.

The boy walked to his bed and sat down, facing away. He kept his eyes on the nightstand as if he found something interesting there. He heard as his father followed him, closed the door and walked closer to the bed. Victor didn't sit down, he stayed in safe distance, but Blaine could feel his gaze on his back. He tried to prepare himself for another talk with his father. It was never nice and he knew very well that it would be about his behavior and expectations again. He was never good enough, he would never be. So it was pointless to waste their time. Blaine wouldn't listen anyway, so it wouldn't change anything.

"I'm sorry" Victor said.

Blaine turned around to look into his father's eyes. He thought that he heard something wrong. His father never apologized. He was too proud for that.

"You heard that correctly. I'm sorry" Victor repeated. "I should have been more understanding after the attack. I shouldn't have been so angry and I shouldn't have said those things. I was wrong."

"Yes, you were" Blaine said quietly and looked away again. It didn't matter what his father said, he didn't really mean it. After his comment, Victor would yell at him again and they would be back to the start.

To his surprise, his father didn't yell at him. He didn't seem to get angry at all. He walked to the bed, sat down beside Blaine, and to the boy's surprise, he put an arm around him.

"What are you doing?" Blaine frowned. Something wasn't right with his father.

"Let me explain" Victor said.

Now that he was so close to him, Blaine noticed the signs of exhaustion under his eyes. He simply nodded. He wanted to say that he wasn't interested in whatever his father was about to say, but that was a lie. He wanted to hear what he wanted to tell him.

"I overreacted, I get it. But you should know that I'm not angry with you. I was just…" Victor sighed heavily and looked away. "This is a really hard time for me, you know? I'm trying so hard to act like everything's fine, because that's what people expect me to do. Because that's what I have to do, because I can't trust anyone…"

"I don't understand" Blaine said quietly.

His father took a few deep breaths before he said anything.

"That's because I never talked to you about this. I thought that you were too young to understand, but… I guess I forgot that you aren't a small child anymore" Victor said.

"That's right" Blaine nodded. "But I still don't get it. What do you mean you can't trust anyone? Your men…"

"My men only work for me because they need my money. But I can't trust them, not completely" Victor shook his head. "To be honest, I'm starting to believe that not all of them are working for me."

"What?" Blaine frowned.

"Those men tried to kidnap you for a reason" Victor said as he looked at his son again. "It's not because you're my blood and I would pay for you no matter what. They chose you because they know exactly how devastated I would be if I lost you."

Blaine snorted. He tried to stop himself but he wasn't good in hiding his true feelings. His father couldn't have been farther from a loving parent. He never talked to him. He never spent time with him. He sent him to a private school, so he didn't have to see him more than necessary. And he never called him. Saying that he loved his son was probably the biggest lie Victor had ever come up with.

"You don't believe me" Victor nodded. He was still so calm, it frustrated Blaine.

"Why would I?" Blaine asked.

"Maybe our relationship isn't the best…"

"Seriously, dad?"

"Just listen to me" Victor said quickly. He never talked about his emotions, so it was really hard for him. The fact that Blaine didn't want to listen just made everything worse. "You're right. I don't show you too often how much I love you…"

"This is pointless" Blaine sighed. He stood up and started pacing, trying hard not to get the frustration of years out on his father.

"But I do" Victor continued. "I just… I guess I'm scared that I might lose you. You're too much like your mother and every time I look at you, I remember her and how I lost her. I can't get over that again. I wouldn't survive that."

"Would you just stop?" Blaine shouted. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you honestly think that I'll believe this shit?"

"Blaine, language" Victor said sternly.

"Oh, I see you're finally back, father" Blaine spat. "Blaine, don't do this. Blaine, don't do that. Blaine, be a good boy and act like you aren't even here!"

"Why are you so angry?" Victor asked.

"Because I mean nothing to you!" Blaine shouted.

"That's not true!" Victor shouted back.

"Oh, come on. Don't tell me that you ignore me because I remind you of my mother" Blaine said. "You never did the same to Cooper."

"Cooper is different" Victor said.

"Sure" Blaine muttered. Of course he was different. Cooper was the perfect son. And he was nobody.

"Yes, he is" Victor said. "And not because I love him more. He's just…"

He was just someone Victor wanted. Blaine was a mistake. And Victor didn't like mistakes, that was so simple.

"It was so easy with him" Victor explained. "He was always such a good boy. I guess that's because he had his mother. I thought it would be the same with you, but you're so different. Cooper slept through the nights from the beginning. We had to hire two nannies when you were born because we would have gone insane from the lack of sleep."

"I'm sorry I wasn't a perfect baby" Blaine muttered, anger boiling in him. Why was he responsible for everything?

"I never said it was your fault" Victor said. "As you became older, we slowly realized that you were nothing like Cooper. And don't be angry, I'm not saying this because I blame you for anything. I just want to make you see why I raised you differently."

Blaine sighed. He still didn't understand what his father wanted with this, other than making him feel bad for something he couldn't have done differently.

"It became better with time and your mother and I got used to having two sons. There was a really good time in our lives, when you were about two or three years old. Once you started speaking, everything became so easy. Than we understood. You were frustrated because you couldn't make us understand, but once it was solved, every problem seemed to disappear. You became such a wonderful boy. Everybody loved you."

"Where was Cooper when it happened?" Blaine asked. He still wanted to anger his father. He wanted to fight because that was familiar. He knew what would happened if they fought. But his father didn't seem to get angry whatever he said and it scared Blaine. He didn't know what was going to happen. That was new.

"But then your mother died" Victor continued as if he didn't even hear Blaine. "It changed everything. I wanted to be a good father but I failed. I was grieving. I didn't feel anything but pain. And I made a horrible mistake."

Blaine watched his father, unable to decide if it was true or his father's acting skills were better than Cooper's.

"As I said, the two of you were so different as children. Cooper took everything so easily, so when your mother died, I just let them get over it. It worked. He took it quite good, actually. A few sessions with his therapist and he was almost completely back to normal" Victor said. "You, on the other hand…"

"I was the bad kid" Blaine rolled his eyes.

"You were a lot closer to your mom. It's understandable. Cooper was a teenager by then, he didn't need us so much anymore. But you were still so small. You didn't understand why your mommy was gone, why she wasn't coming back" Victor continued.

Blaine felt a sting of pain in his chest and turned away again. He didn't remember much of that time of his life, but he still remembered missing his mother. He remembered shouting her name, waiting for her in the middle of the night when he had woken up from a nightmare. But she had never come.

"I should have been more understandable. Less selfish. I was so lost in grief that I didn't see how much you needed me. I thought that I could solve everything with money. I hired you new nannies. Paid for the best therapists. Even paid for children to play with you, so you wouldn't be alone."

Blaine's eyes widened. He didn't just hear that...

"You didn't" he said slowly.

"I did" Victor nodded. "I thought that…"

"Oh, my God! It was all fake?" Blaine shouted. "I never had a real friend? They were just playing with me because you hired them?"

"I never said that. Just that I… encouraged a few kids to play with you when you were younger" Victor tried to explain. "You were so lonely…"

"Are you surprised? My mother died and you left me completely alone when I needed you the most!"

"I know that it was wrong, okay?" Victor replied. "I know. I saw it after a while that you needed something different. But I was alone with the problem and I had no idea how to solve it."

"So you decided not to do anything" Blaine came to the conclusion. He wished this conversation had never happened. His father had hurt him a few times in his life but never as much as this time. Now he knew that his father was a heartless ass who didn't care about anything but himself.

"I'm so sorry, Blaine" Victor said quietly. "I wish I could go back in time and change it. I wish I could try again…"

"It's too late" Blaine replied.

Victor sighed and looked down. He seemed so tired, so old. And so weak. Blaine got used to know him as a strong, cold man who never talked about his worries, who never showed any sign of pain or fear. This time was different, though. His father was different this time. And Blaine had no idea what to do with it.

"I guess you're right" Victor nodded. "Of course you are. No wonder you hate me so much when you think that I never cared about you."

He took a deep breath and looked into Blaine's eyes.

"That's not true, you know" he continued. "I might not be the perfect parent…"

Blaine snorted.

"...But! You're my son and I love you" Victor said. He quickly continued when Blaine opened his mouth to protest. "No, please, just hear me out."

Blaine still didn't know if it was a good decision since he didn't believe that his father could change so suddenly, that they still had a chance for a better relationship. But for the first time in his life, he saw his father completely relaxed and honest with him, so he decided to give him a chance. He nodded and waited for his dad to continue.

"As I already said a few times, I do care about you" Victor said, trying to gather his thoughts. He couldn't be sure how long Blaine was willing to listen to him, so he had to say as much as he could. "I just… Your mother was so good with kids, you know? Not just you two. Everyone loved her. She was always so happy and energetic… Do you remember her?"

Blaine hesitated. He had a picture of his mother in his mind but it wasn't really his memory. More like the picture he made up from the information he had gathered from others.

"It's okay. You were so young when she died" Victor said quietly. "I was in huge trouble when she died. As I said, I was depressed and I had no idea what to do with you. With either of you. That's why I let Cooper leave. I knew that he would never become a good actor, but he wanted it so badly and I thought it would be easier with him if I didn't stop him."

"You never told me about this" Blaine said.

"And I would be glad if you never mentioned your brother" Victor said.

"So you had one less problem" Blaine said after a while. He wanted to hear what else his father had to say.

"You can say that, although I never considered you as problem" Victor told him. "It was horrible with you. I did everything I could to make you happy. I got you new toys. New friends. The best nannies available. But it wasn't enough."

"Did you never think that all I needed was my father?" Blaine asked. He couldn't believe his dad was so stupid. How could he be? "That I was alone and had no one to talk to?"

He was angry again. He didn't want to talk more, not to his father. Damn, where was Kurt when he needed him?

"It was stupid of me" Victor said. "But I hope it's not too late. We could… I think we can still work on it."

"And how do you think it'll work?" Blaine asked. He didn't believe that they could change their relationship, not so easily, but he wanted to know what his father had in his mind. Although he said that he wasn't interested, he missed his father. He wanted to spend more time with him.

"Well, I guess we should spend more time together" Victor said as if he heard Blaine's thoughts. "We could watch a movie together tonight. What do you think? It would be a good start, right?"

Blaine blinked in surprise. He still couldn't believe that it was really happening, but his father never joked. He had to be serious.

"You want to spend time with me?" he asked carefully.

"Of course" Victor smiled. "What do you think? Do you want to spend some time with your old man?"

He wanted it so badly. Blaine almost threw his arms around his father and told him that it was all he wanted, but he couldn't do that. Not right now. He was afraid that it wouldn't last too long and he would get hurt again. So he only nodded, keeping safe distance.

"Very good" Victor said. He stood up and reached out towards Blaine. Maybe he wanted to hug him, Blaine wasn't sure. He pulled back his hand in the end, though, probably deciding that it was too much for now. "Uhm… I still have to take care of a few things. Will I see you at dinner?"

"Yeah" Blaine nodded.

"Alright" Victor nodded. Within seconds, he was back to his usual formal self. He turned around and walked to the door but stopped again. He turned back around and looked at Blaine again but didn't say anything.

"Is there something else you want to talk about?" Blaine asked.

"I just… Thank you for giving us a chance" he said.

Blaine simply nodded. What could he say? It still felt like a dream. He couldn't believe that it was all real and his father finally came to his senses. He had never thought it might happen one day.

When Victor finally left, Blaine sat down. He was shaking. So much had happened in the previous hour, it was overwhelming. He needed some time to think and figure out how it happened.

Kurt. Blaine smiled at the thought of the man. Kurt must have talked to his father, it had to be his work. He was the only one who talked to Victor without fear. He had to be the one who helped his father open his eyes and sent him here. Kurt who seemed so cold sometimes. But Blaine knew the truth about him, Kurt was a really good man who cared about him, a lot. He knew that he had to thank him for his help, he only didn't know how. He would come up with something for sure… But now he had to sort things out. Too much had happened that day to focus on anything else at the moment. His thoughts were already giving him a headache.


	11. Chapter 11

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Here is the new chapter. I hope you like it.**

Waking up a teenager just before 5 o'clock in the morning, on Monday on the top of that was hard. Kurt liked challenge but this case seemed nearly impossible. Blaine was a heavy sleeper for sure. He knocked on his door first. Then called his name. Nothing. Blaine didn't seem to hear him at all. Kurt sighed and knocked again. He had told Blaine to be ready for their morning training. He had known that he had to wake up earlier today. It wasn't Kurt's problem that Blaine had stayed awake way too long the previous night.

Deep inside he was happy for Blaine, of course. He knew how much the boy needed his father, that he had missed him so much and now he finally had what he wanted. He knew better than anyone how important family was. He had lost his own after all. He had gone downstairs the previous night, only to see how Blaine and his father were cooperating. It had been nice to see the two of them sitting on the couch, watching a movie together, chatting. Kurt had had no sleep that night, he had kept thinking about what he had lost and what he missed so much. Seeing Blaine with his father brought back too many memories. And it hurt like hell.

Kurt had suppressed these memories for a long while. He had been careful with his emotions when his father had been still alive, but it hadn't been that bad back then. His mother had died way too early, leaving emptiness behind her. She had been such a loving mother. Kurt had been young when she had died but he still remembered her. She had been a kind, gentle woman who had loved him so much. As their only child, Kurt had gotten all of his mother's attention. She had spent a lot of time with him, she had taken him to school every day, she had brought her home, helped him do his homework, so they had had more time for each other. Elizabeth had loved stories, she had read Kurt a lot and she had come up with her own tales as well. Kurt still remembered some of them. She could have been a great writer. He also remembered cooking dinner with her, singing and dancing through the kitchen, waiting for his father to come home. It had been amazing. Then they had had dinner together and they had spent the whole evening together. Right until bedtime when Kurt had begged for his parents to allow him to stay awake more. They had barely watched TV, they had played and talked instead. Like a perfect family.

It had changed after his mother's death. His father had tried so hard to be a good father but he hadn't been enough for that. He had worked too much and he hadn't had enough energy left at the end of the day. He had still cared. He had seen when something had bothered Kurt and he had sat down with his son to talk about his problems. He had been a good listener, something Kurt had needed so much after his mother's death. He had talked a lot about his feelings. And his father had never told him that he was too tired for that. Even if he had been grieving, he hadn't shown a sign of weakness. He had stayed strong for his son's sake.

Living without Elizabeth had been hard but his father had tried his best. He had taken care of the household beside work, he had also learned how to cook, even if it had ended with some disastrous meals Kurt wanted to forget about. He still wouldn't forget the good memories. How they had laughed together only a few weeks after the funeral when his father had almost burnt down the house when he had left the chicken in the oven while playing with his son. He would never forget that his father had noticed that something was wrong at school. That he had figured out about the bullying. That he had still loved him when he had figured out that Kurt was gay. Little things that seemed so far now but were so important for him.

Sometimes Kurt wondered why he had become so distant after his father's death. Maybe it was because it had been so quick. Nobody had seen it coming. Burt Hummel, although he had loved unhealthy food, had drunk a beer or two at the end of the day, had slept too little, hadn't shown any sign of problems until that horrible day. He had never been sick before, so when he had gotten that call, he hadn't thought it was serious at first. It had been too hard to believe.

Heart attack. It had sent his father to coma and the doctors had had no idea if he would wake up at all. Kurt had tried everything to help his father but it hadn't been enough. He had passed away a little over a week later. Kurt had been there with him when it had happened. He had been holding his father's hand, crying, and he had been talking about memories, hoping that his father could hear him… But then his heart had stopped and it had been the end. They couldn't bring him back from death.

That was where his life had ended. Although his friends had told him not to give up, that he still had a chance to live for his dreams, only he had to work harder for them, Kurt couldn't believe in miracles anymore. He had lost the two most important people of his life in such tragic ways. First his mother, then his father… People who had understood him. The only people who had truly known him. Kurt had realized how unfair life was and he had decided not to fight anymore. It was useless.

He hadn't thought that it was wrong for years. He had found himself working out and training more and more, so he hadn't had to think too much. He had gotten a job at the local gym that paid well enough to pay the bills. He had had to sell the old house, of course, it had been too big for him, but he could buy a small apartment instead and he had gotten enough to pay the bills and have enough food. He had needed it after all, especially after he had tried himself in martial arts and had decided that it was his path. Pain couldn't hold him back, what he felt inside was a lot worse.

He had stupidly thought that burying his memories and not allowing himself to feel anything anymore was the solution. He had thought that it worked, he had convinced himself that he was over it and he was fine. He had been so wrong. This job showed him that he was far from being fine. He needed a lot of time to figure out what changed. Life had been so simple for a good while and now suddenly it wasn't. He tried so hard to find out what caused it and then it finally hit him. Blaine. It was him who made Kurt feel again.

Working as a bodyguard was usually simple. His employers didn't ask questions, they accepted that Kurt was strange and that was all. Blaine was different, though. Somehow he seemed to know a lot about Kurt and unfortunately, he always asked the best questions. He knew what to search for. It scared Kurt but also amazed him at the same time. Blaine, although he was hard to stand sometimes, cared about him more than any of his friends. It was nice. More than nice actually.

Kurt started to realize that he cared about Blaine, too. He started to consider Blaine his friend but something wasn't right with those feelings. They were different. Kurt didn't know what they meant until that morning.

When Blaine didn't open his door and Kurt started to get impatient, he decided not to wait anymore and reached for the handle. The door wasn't locked, so he simply opened it and stepped inside. He sighed when he realized that the room was completely dark and Blaine was lying in his bed. He shook his head. If the boy thought he would forget about their training, he was very wrong.

Deciding that it was time for a more radical step, Kurt walked to the bed. He was about to reach out and shook Blaine's shoulder when he was close enough to actually see the boy. Blaine was lying on his side, he was deep asleep, taking slow breaths. Kurt only checked that when he was afraid that he might get caught. Because the sight in front of him caused some strange, unexpected reactions from his body.

Blaine was naked. Completely. No pajama pants. No boxers. Absolutely nothing. Just smooth skin everywhere. Kurt didn't have to touch Blaine to feel it. It was enough to look at him.

He didn't know what happened to him. It wasn't like he hadn't seen naked people before. Even males. But he wasn't pervert. He wasn't. So he wouldn't just stand here, watching Blaine in his sleep like a stalker. It was freaky. But Kurt was completely normal. Only… Okay, maybe he was crazy but he couldn't make himself move.

It was the first time he saw Blaine like that. He had noticed that Blaine was hot, of course, maybe not as hot as his brother but his huge eyes and natural curly hair made him unique. He was the lucky type who always looked good. But his body… Kurt let his eyes linger on Blaine's body one more time. Only for a few seconds. Really. For someone who hated every kind of sport, Blaine's body was perfect. No extra weight. Flawless skin. Absolutely perfect. Kurt almost touched him when he finally realized what he was doing. He was alone with Blaine in the boy's room while Blaine was asleep and naked and he was watching him like a pervert. How could he get there? Damn, it was so wrong. He had to stop this. Now.

Deciding that he needed time to calm down, Kurt forced himself to step back from the bed and once he was able to turn away, he practically run. Away from Blaine, the boy who made him feel like no one else before.

He was so screwed.

~ o ~

"You didn't wake me up this morning."

Kurt tried so hard not to look at Blaine. It was hard to be around the boy after what had happened that morning. It was Blaine. The boy he had watched in his sleep. Blaine who had been naked and… No. He was professional. He had to stop thinking about Blaine's body and focus on his job instead. Keeping Blaine safe was his job, what he had seen in the morning was unimportant. He just missed sex, that was all. Kurt was a young man, he had needs, of course, needs he had ignored in the previous weeks. Months. Who remembered? But now he knew that it was something he had to deal with if he didn't want to do something stupid. Like stalking his employer's teenage son, for example.

"I overslept" Kurt said the first thing that came into his mind.

"You?" Blaine smiled.

"What?" Kurt frowned.

"I don't know. You just don't seem like someone who sleeps too much. I didn't think you sleep at all" Blaine said.

"You already saw me sleep" Kurt reminded him. "Don't you remember when you brought that bird to our room?"

"Oh, yes" Blaine nodded. "I still can't believe you didn't wake up when I came back with him. He was quite loud."

"I remember" Kurt muttered. Just like the headache the bird had caused him.

"Does it mean I'm saved from today's training?" Blaine asked.

"Of course not" Kurt answered. "But we have Warbler practice today."

Blaine smiled. He was always excited when it was about the Warblers. Probably because the Warblers were all about him. Although Kurt got enough attention on his own, too, Blaine was the lead singer of the group and he enjoyed it very much. Blaine knew very well that his voice was amazing and he loved spotlight. He sang every time he had a chance.

"We can do something after that" Kurt said.

"Why don't we just skip training today?" Blaine asked.

"No way" Kurt said. "You have to learn how to defend yourself, remember?"

"Come on, just one day off…"

"No" Kurt said seriously.

"I'm tired" Blaine tried to come up with a good excuse.

"That doesn't mean you should skip your training" Kurt said. "You can never be sure when those guys will strike again. And since we aren't any closer to catch them…"

Blaine sighed. That concerned him, too. He had thought that finding those guys would be easy but it didn't seem like they would catch them anytime soon. It seemed like they disappeared without trace, no matter how much his father paid to find them. Blaine had been excited to train first but he hadn't thought that it would be so exhausting. But it was, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to defend himself, even if Kurt trained with him every single day. He just wasn't talented enough. Probably because he couldn't imagine himself hurting someone for real. Training with Kurt seemed more like fun than reality. Besides, Kurt didn't leave him alone for a second and he was a well-trained bodyguard. He would defend him if necessary. So skipping a day or two wouldn't change anything.

"Just one day off" Blaine begged him.

"No" Kurt said determinedly. "Some jogging won't hurt. It's healthy and not exhausting at all."

Blaine was about to tell him that Kurt was wrong about that, that Blaine hated jogging and couldn't even do it longer than a few minutes, but they reached their destination, the rehearsal room where the other Warblers were already waiting for them.

"Finally" Wes said when he saw them. "Sit down. We have some interesting news for you."

"What is it?" Blaine asked as he sat down.

"As you know, Sectionals is nearly here and we have to do something wonderful if we want to win" Wes said.

"We think we found the perfect idea" David continued.

"Actually, it was my idea" Jeff reminded him.

"So we voted and we all agree that we have to do something new this year" Wes said.

"I can come up with something" Blaine shrugged. He knew how it worked. They always let him have the solo, it wouldn't be different this year either. He would find a great new song and perform. It was easy. They could also use his newly learned dance moves for the group number…

"It's not necessary" Nick said. "We already know what we need for the first place."

They were watching him so excitedly… Wait a second. They weren't watching him. Not only him. But also Kurt. Blaine looked at the man in confusion. Did Kurt know something about this?

"And what is it?" Kurt asked carefully. He must have seen it, too.

"Instead of giving Blaine the solo like usually, we'll turn it into a duet" David smiled.

"A duet?" Blaine asked slowly. It wasn't like he didn't like singing with his friends. But he knew that he was better on his own.

"That's right" Jeff nodded. "Look, Blaine, you're amazing and we all know that. But now that we have another amazing singer in our group…"

He turned to look at Kurt.

"You mean… me?" Kurt asked in surprise.

"Of course" Jeff laughed. "We loved your performance. It was absolutely perfect. Besides, we think your voice would match Blaine's."

"You want us to sing a duet? With Kurt?" Blaine asked because he wasn't sure if he heard it correctly. It wasn't like he didn't like Kurt. He did, really. But giving up his solo to sing with him… Well, that was a little much to ask for.

"We agree that it's the best we can do" Wes nodded. "So it's decided. You and Kurt will sing a duet and than we'll perform a group number together. We have to win this."

"We want to go to New York, Blaine" Nick explained.

"We need to go to New York" Jeff nodded in agreement.

He looked at Kurt for help. Unfortunately, his bodyguard seem too surprised to come up with something. He tried to find a good excuse why he didn't want to sing with Kurt on his own, but he regretted it immediately. It wasn't fair. Kurt was a good man, he was almost his friend, and also his savior. He also had a great voice. Blaine couldn't be selfish when Kurt had a chance to show everyone how talented he was. Maybe it would help him open up a bit. Blaine still wanted to know more about him, get closer to him, and here was a good occasion to spend more time talking to Kurt. Who knew, maybe he would finally learn the truth about Kurt, the past he kept so well hidden from Blaine.

Blaine smiled. Singing a duet with Kurt wasn't a bad idea after all.

"You're right" Blaine said. "I think the duet is a great idea. The judges will love it."

Kurt looked at him with wide eyes.

"What?" Blaine whispered.

"Are you out of your mind?" Kurt hissed.

"I think they're right" Blaine shrugged.

"But…"

"So it's decided" Wes said, not giving Kurt a chance to reason. "Let's move on. We're waiting for ideas for the group number."

The Warblers started to shout song titles and they were just too loud to talk about important questions while they were around. Kurt leaned back in his seat and sighed. As if his life wasn't complicated enough...


	12. Chapter 12

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Here is the new chapter, I hope you like it. I have the next few chapters written, so hopefully you won't have to wait so long for the next one.**

 **Thank you so much for reading and reviewing my story!**

Blaine thought that singing a duet with Kurt would bring the two of them closer. He really wanted to get to know Kurt the way nobody did. Kurt was always so careful with his emotions. He never showed any sign of worry, fear or even happiness, it was a rare occasion that he offered Blaine a weak smile. It wasn't right. Although Kurt always said that he was fine, it wasn't healthy. He could deny that he was lonely but Blaine knew him better than anyone. He knew that Kurt needed someone, just like he needed someone as well. They needed each other, that was the solution. And Blaine was determined to get closer to Kurt.

It wasn't only because he found Kurt interesting with his secrets. The day when Kurt had saved him changed everything. Blaine couldn't only look at him like a regular bodyguard anymore. For him, Kurt was a hero. He had saved him in so many ways. He had to do something in return, Kurt deserved it.

He thought about Kurt a lot in those days. Maybe that was the reason why he dreamed about him almost every night. At first it was all innocent. He saw Kurt as a young boy, grieving his parents. Blaine still didn't know the details but he was pretty sure that Kurt had been in so much pain after losing his parents. That had to be the reason why he didn't let people close to him. He had to scared of losing someone he loved again. But that wasn't good for him. Hiding his emotions for too long wouldn't lead to anything good. He had already lost his friends and he was all alone. Well, he had been, but now he had Blaine, whether he wanted it or not.

Blaine's dreams about Kurt changed with time. It was probably his stupid mind playing with him, but after a while, he didn't dream about Kurt's suffering anymore. Kurt became his hero, even in his dreams, who saved him from monsters lurking in the darkness, waiting to catch him. Whatever attacked him in his dreams, Kurt was always there to save him. He pulled Blaine into his arms and told him that everything would be alright. That he wouldn't let anyone hurt him.

Probably because he felt safe around Kurt, because he only felt safe when Kurt was there with him, Blaine started to have other kind of dreams. They were new, strange at first, but very, very good. They made his body feel very good. Because in his dreams, Kurt didn't only hold him in his arms. Sometimes Kurt's hands wondered down his body and, well, his body answered. Blaine usually wake up from those dreams with a hard on and quickly fled to their shared bathroom to save himself from embarrassment. He had a feeling that Kurt wouldn't be too happy to know about his secret. Kurt was an adult after all, probably an experienced one, and Blaine… well, Blaine was just a kid.

It didn't mean he pushed Kurt away. Maybe it would have been the rational thing to do, but he simply couldn't make himself keep a professional distance from Kurt. Who was he kidding? He loved having Kurt around. And now they were going to sing a duet… It was wonderful. More time with Kurt, not training with Kurt but real time with him. A chance to make Kurt trust him. He let him in. He knew, maybe they would get closer to each other...

"Blaine, what the hell is wrong with you again?"

Blaine jumped. He must have gotten lost in his thoughts again. It happened sometimes. More often than he wanted it, but he wasn't surprised. He saw Kurt in a brand new light and he needed time to understand how he was feeling. It was important.

"I'm just thinking" he muttered.

"I figured out" Kurt rolled his eyes. "Why aren't you ready? We don't have much time for training, we shouldn't waste precious minutes to…"

"Actually, I don't want to train today" Blaine said.

"Blaine…"

"Please, listen to me" Blaine said quickly. "You know how important competitions are for me, right?"

"It's hard not to know when you told me about a million times" Kurt rolled his eyes.

"See? We can't waste our time for training when we have a duet to practice" Blaine said. "We have so much to do! We have to find the right song, practice it together, not to mention my favorite dance moves you have to learn…"

"Dance?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course" Blaine said as if it was all natural. "You didn't think we would just stand there and sing, right?"

"I did, actually" Kurt replied.

"Kurt, we have to win this competition!" Blaine said. "We have to go to New York this year! It's very important for the team. For me, too."

"I get it. Really. But you shouldn't forget that there are people out there who want to hurt you and your safety is the most important right now" Kurt said. "What if somebody attacks you again? You have to be prepared."

"I don't think I have to worry about it when you're around" Blaine smiled.

"Blaine…"

"Just once, Kurt" Blaine begged him. "Please. I swear I'll give my best tomorrow. But now I would like to sing with you."

Kurt watched him in silence for a while, unable to decide what to do. He knew that he shouldn't let Blaine have what he wanted again. He always did this to him and it didn't lead them anywhere. Blaine was lazy, his excitement far gone. He hated training, that was clear, and that meant no improvement. That concerned Kurt. Although Blaine trusted him, he wasn't so sure in himself. They still didn't know who was after Blaine, so he had to keep his eyes open all the time. That made him exhausted and also meant that there was a chance for making a mistake. He wouldn't admit that to anyone but he was worried about not being able to defend Blaine again. So he wanted to be sure the boy was able to fight back if necessary.

And there was that thing with the duet, too. After that morning Kurt tried so hard to keep his emotions under control. He was afraid that if he wasn't careful enough, he would do something bad. Like showing Blaine his affection. No, that would be horrible. He was Blaine's bodyguard and he couldn't be more. Blaine was a teenager, a rich one with great prospects. Once the threats were gone and he graduated, Blaine would go to college, fall in love with another rich boy and have his happily ever after. Kurt, on the other hand, was hopeless. He was nobody with no plans for the future and he was simply unable to show his emotions. He had gotten hurt so many times in his life that something inside him died. Although he hoped that one day he would be able to live like a normal person again, he was afraid that it was already too late for that. He had lost everyone he loved. He had pushed his friends away. He was pretty sure that he would make that mistake again if he let someone close. That couldn't be Blaine. Blaine was so young, so full of hope and happiness. He couldn't ruin that.

"No" he said seriously. "I'm sorry, Blaine, but there are more important things than competitions. I''m your bodyguard. I'm not here to have fun but to keep you safe. That includes making you able to defend yourself if necessary."

"But…"

"I don't think I'm the best choice for that duet anyway" Kurt continued. "Choose somebody else. I know that some of the guys are dying to step out of your shadow and show what they are capable of."

He knew that he really hurt Blaine with his words. He didn't even have to see it in his eyes. Although Blaine was well aware of his talent and enjoyed spotlight, he liked the Warblers and did everything he could for his team. Saying those things wasn't fair. But Blaine had to learn that sometimes life wasn't fair, that he couldn't always have what he wanted. Yes, sometimes it hurt, but that was how life worked. He had to grow up a bit.

~ o ~

Blaine was confused. It wasn't enough that he started to fall for his bodyguard and had the weirdest dreams about the two of them, making it hard to act naturally around Kurt. There were Kurt's mood swings, too, that made really hard to sort out his feelings. Sometimes Kurt was sweet and caring, at least as much as he could be while still being careful and distant. Sometimes Kurt let him in a bit, he talked to him and – probably involuntarily – slipped little bits of information about himself. Blaine loved those moments. It proved that Kurt wasn't a robot but a real human being like himself. That he had emotions like everybody else.

But then, without warning, Kurt turned back to bodyguard mode and it was just impossible to talk to him. He was always serious, he didn't smile and didn't allow himself the smallest moment of fun. Unfortunately, that meant a lot more training for Blaine. Kurt seemed to take his job really seriously. He was determined to teach Blaine how to defend himself and it became a lot harder since he had found out that the two of them would sing a duet together. It wasn't like Blaine didn't try to talk to him, not at all. Only Kurt didn't listen. He wasn't excited at all and it ruined Blaine's mood as well. He had no idea what Kurt's problem was. It was a good opportunity to spend more time together without anyone asking questions. Blaine had thought that Kurt liked him. Now he wasn't that sure anymore.

It didn't mean he should stop trying, though. Although Kurt's bad mood affected him as well, he couldn't let themselves go back to the start, not when they were getting closer to each other. Maybe Kurt tried to push him away, but Blaine wasn't that easy to get rid of. No. He would keep trying until Kurt realized that it was the best that could happen to him.

"Blaine, hurry" Kurt said as he stepped out of the bathroom one morning, only to find the boy still sitting on his bed in his night clothes. "If we want to return for our first class in time, we should go. Like right now."

"I'm not in the mood" Blaine said.

"We already talked about this. You can't skip your training when…"

"Oh, come on. It's been such a long week. We need some rest" Blaine said.

"Tomorrow" Kurt said. "I already agreed to let you skip tomorrow's training to be with your dad. We can't have another day off."

"Why not?" Blaine asked. "It's not like we're in hurry."

"Blaine…"

"I know. Kidnappers, assassins and all. You seriously need a day off" Blaine said.

"I don't need a day off. I only need you to get ready, so we can leave in time" Kurt snorted.

"It's nice, you know" Blaine smiled.

"What?" Kurt asked in confusion.

"That you care about me so much" Blaine answered.

Kurt was determined not to tell Blaine that he really cared about him, a lot. Maybe more than he should as the boy's bodyguard. Unfortunately, Blaine started to get to know him too well. He could have denied it, he could have said that it was just his job, but Blaine already knew him. He understood that Kurt spent so much time because he was worried about him. Okay, they would have spent every minute of every day together, no matter what, but Kurt didn't have to train Blaine. He hadn't even talked about it with Victor. Although the man had seen them train once and he hadn't said anything about it. Kurt still wasn't sure if the man knew how much he cared about Blaine. And it had nothing to do with his feelings. It wasn't because he had found Blaine naked in his bed one day and his body had had the strangest answer to the sight. He didn't care about Blaine because the boy was more than a friend for him. Of course not. Kurt was professional. He would never risk their safety because he couldn't keep his body under control. Maybe Blaine was right, he needed a day off, so he could get away from the boy and take care of his needs without the possibility of doing something stupid. Like letting Blaine know what had happened that morning.

"It's my job" Kurt said simply. "Are you coming or not?"

"No" Blaine said and leaned back on his bed. "I have a few great ideas for our song. We should discuss them."

"Not right now" Kurt said seriously.

"We have to talk about it" Blaine sighed.

"But not now" Kurt said. He was getting impatient.

"Fine" Blaine smiled. "I have an offer for you. I'll go with you but you have to promise me to spend the evening with me."

"Blaine, we spend every evening together" Kurt pointed out.

"Not like that" Blaine shook his head. "I want to show you my favorite secret place. Nobody would disturb us there, so it's perfect to practice our song. I have a feeling that you don't like having audience when you sing."

"It was surely hard to figure out" Kurt rolled his eyes.

Blaine sighed and pushed himself up from the bed.

"Today, after classes. Deal?" He offered Kurt his right hand.

Kurt watched the boy in silence for a while. He knew that Blaine would have what he wanted, like he always had. He had no chance against him.

"Fine" he said in the end and shook Blaine's hand. "Can we finally go?"

"Of course" Blaine said and quickly disappeared in the bathroom to change clothes.

Kurt shook his head when the door was closed behind the boy. Blaine was probably the weirdest person he had ever known. Maybe that was the reason he could get as close to Kurt as no one before.

~ o ~

Kurt had no idea where they were going. He knew the whole place, he had checked every single room he had been allowed to visit, Blaine couldn't surprise him with anything. Not to mention that he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Blaine's secret place. He started to get worried of being alone with the boy. Not because he didn't like Blaine, not at all. He was scared that he might do something stupid if the two of them were alone. It didn't make much sense, they slept in the same room, they trained together and there were so many other occasions that it was just the two of them. Something told him that this place was a special one, though. Blaine was so excited to show him.

Kurt wasn't sure if it was a good idea. He knew that Blaine looked at him differently now that he had saved him from those men and then he had also talked to Victor, helped them sort things out. Unfortunately, Blaine had figured out that Kurt was behind the sudden changes and he seemed to look up at him, more so than ever. Sometimes it even seemed like he admired Kurt, a way he wasn't supposed to. Kurt was his bodyguard. Blaine's father paid him to be with his son. They had to keep it in their minds. Kurt wasn't here to sing duets with Blaine or be his friend. He wouldn't stay forever, he wouldn't be needed once Blaine was safe again and they would say goodbye sooner or later. It was safer not to get too close to Blaine. Kurt knew very well how much it hurt when he had to say goodbye to people he loved. He didn't want Blaine to be one of them. He didn't want to get hurt again and he definitely didn't want to hurt a teenager who had so much trouble with his emotions. He had to keep distance. Yes. That was it. So what were they doing here?

"I think we should go back" Kurt said as Blaine led him through the dark garden. "Why do we have to practice here? Seriously, Blaine, I don't think it's a good idea."

"Relax" Blaine said. "Come on, we're almost there."

"Do you even want to sing or is this just another game you're playing with me?" Kurt asked impatiently, knowing the boy too well.

"I stopped doing that" Blaine rolled his eyes. "Look, this is it."

Kurt stopped and blinked a few times, so his eyes adjusted to the darkness. The lights of the school's lamp barely reached this place, he had to focus to see what they were surrounded with.

"Is this a memorial?" he frowned.

"Yes" Blaine nodded. "James Donovan. One of the top students of Dalton at the beginning of the 1900s. He became a doctor and traveled through the world to study every kind of epidemics."

"Died in 1920" Kurt read, frowning. "He didn't last too long. Why is he so important?"

"He isn't" Blaine shrugged. "But nobody comes here, so we won't be disturbed."

Kurt glared at him. He couldn't believe Blaine dragged him out here, only to be alone. They could have stayed in their room as well.

"What?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing" Kurt sighed. "So what are we doing here? I hope you don't expect me to sing in front of a guy who died about hundred years ago."

"He isn't really here. It's just his memorial" Blaine rolled his eyes. "But no, I don't want you to sing here."

"Why are we here then?" Kurt asked. He had no idea what Blaine wanted with this.

"To have a chat, of course" Blaine said simply.

Kurt raised an eyebrow as an answer. He couldn't always understand the kid. He had the weirdest ideas.

"We should go back to the room" Kurt said in the end. Being out here was a bad idea. They could never be sure that no one was watching them. No, they had to return to the building, especially if Blaine had other surprises.

"No" Blaine said quickly. "Sit down."

"I thought you wanted to practice the song!" Kurt said in frustration.

"No. I want to get prepared to sing a duet with you" Blaine replied.

"I don't get it" Kurt said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Blaine sighed and rolled his eyes. There it was again. Kurt and his walls. What was he so afraid of?

"I just want to get to know you, okay?" he said. "I know practically nothing about you. It's frustrating."

"Well, that's all you get" Kurt shrugged.

"You can't expect me to find a suitable song for us to sing when I don't even know you. I don't even know what kind of music you like" Blaine explained.

"Just pick a song" Kurt said.

"It's not so simple" Blaine shook his head. "We have to win this competition. And if we want to win, we have to work together."

"And you think that luring me out here would help?" Kurt asked.

"Well, I thought that you would finally relax a bit" Blaine said. "God, you're always so cold. What are you so scared of? What would happen if you told me a few things about yourself?"

Kurt sighed and rubbed his forehead. He couldn't believed Blaine tricked him. Again. It was wrong, very wrong. They had to keep professional distance. Blaine had to understand that he wasn't his friend. He couldn't be. It was too dangerous. He was starting to like the boy too much, he wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to him. So he had to do something. Even if he hurt Blaine with it.

"Listen, Blaine. You have to understand one thing. I'm not your friend. I'm you bodyguard and my job is to keep you safe. I don't spend so much time with you because I want to but because that's what I have to do" Kurt said, keeping his voice emotionless. It was really hard when Blaine seemed so sad.

"But I thought…"

Kurt shook his head.

"You're a nice boy, Blaine, but you should find friends from your own age" Kurt said.

Blaine inhaled deeply and did his best to fight back the tears that were threatening to escape his burning eyes. He felt betrayed. He had thought that Kurt was different, that he really cared about him… but maybe he was wrong. Maybe it was just his stupid mind playing with him. Maybe because Kurt had saved him, he had stupidly made himself believe that Kurt was more than just his bodyguard. But now he had to learn that he had been wrong.

"Let's go back to the building. It's getting late" Kurt said quietly. This time he wasn't looking at Blaine. He had to keep himself to his lie, even if it was hard. That was the best for both of them, or so he made himself believe.

It was easier than admitting that Blaine had gotten too close to him and it scared him.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hi Everyone!**

 **Here is the new chapter, I hope you like it!**

Kurt thought that it would be easier with Blaine once they sorted things out. He thought that Blaine would understand that they couldn't be friends, that getting too close to each other would affect Kurt's job and that would be too dangerous. He truly believed that Blaine was adult enough to understand that it wasn't all fun, especially after almost being taken from the mall. But he was so wrong.

Blaine was hurt, it was easy to tell. It was like the first few weeks they had spent together. Or at least something like that. Blaine didn't talk too much to him, only when he didn't have a choice. He also didn't want to be alone with Kurt more than necessary. He spent a lot more time with the Warblers and studied in the library where they weren't alone. He also found reasons why not to train with Kurt. He acted like he was always busy.

Kurt should have been happy. He wanted some distance after all, he was the one who got scared of telling Blaine too much and letting him too close. He had hurt the kid because he got scared of letting him in. Now he got what he wanted, so it was insane that that he felt guilty all the time and felt like he was missing something important. He didn't need much time to figure out that he had gotten so used to Blaine's friendly behavior that he felt like he couldn't live without it. He wished he could take his words back. Things were so much easier before, even if he was worried about Blaine all the time, at least they had talked. Blaine had shared everything with him and it had been so nice. Kurt couldn't remember the last time someone had talked to him so openly. He hadn't even realized that he hadn't been lonely anymore. Not until he lost the only person who cared about him.

He only got what he deserved, he knew it. Blaine had tried to talk to him, he had tried to help him become a better person, but Kurt had been too scared to let Blaine know about his past. It was insane, what was he so scared of? It wasn't like Blaine would use the information against him. He was a nice boy, he probably would have helped him, maybe he would have been able to change him. Well, that was it. Kurt didn't want to change. Okay, that wasn't true either. He wanted to change but he had been lonely for such a long time that being different was simply unimaginable. A life where he didn't have to hide his feelings all the time, where he had someone to trust, who understood his pain, that seemed impossible. The thought that it could be the boy who made him feel so strangely better also didn't help. Rationally, he knew that keeping a professional distance was the best the could do. Only his heart told him otherwise.

"So… uhm… Do you want to practice the song?" Kurt asked one evening when they returned to their room after spending the whole afternoon in the library. Blaine pretended to study so hard that they also skipped dinner. That wasn't right, Blaine had to eat.

"I'm tired. I think I'll just go to sleep" Blaine said. "You don't have to sing with me anyway. I know that you don't want to. I'll talk to the council and tell them that I'll sing a solo."

"You don't have to" Kurt said.

"I won't force you to spend more time with me than necessary" Blaine said quietly.

Kurt took a deep breath. He had to say something, but what? He really wasn't good in conversations. Unfortunately, Blaine wouldn't help him out this time, so he had to figure out how to make the boy talk to him again.

"Aren't you hungry? I know that dinner is over, but I know a good place nearby, maybe we order…"

"I'm not hungry" Blaine said.

"But…"

"It's fine. You don't have to act like we're friends" Blaine said and stood up. "I guess I'm used to it anyway."

"Used to what?" Kurt frowned.

"It doesn't matter" Blaine muttered. "I'll be in the bathroom."

"Blaine…"

But Blaine was already gone.

Kurt sighed and closed his eyes. He had screwed up really badly. He didn't understand himself. It wouldn't have been so hard to tell Blaine a few details of his past. He could have talked about his high school years. About glee club. Anything. It would have been so easy… But now it was too late. Blaine already decided that he was nothing better than his former bodyguards and Kurt knew how badly they had treated the boy. Knowing that Blaine considered him a heartless man who only cared about money really hurt. But maybe he was right, he was no better than those guys. Maybe he was even worse. He had let Blaine think that they could be friends and then ruined everything.

"Good job, Hummel" he told himself. He should have thought about it a lot earlier. So Blaine would have known what to expect from him.

~ o ~

They were sitting in the library the next day when they had an unexpected visitor. It was Kurt who saw him first since Blaine chose to sit in the corner alone, not giving Kurt a chance to talk. It was getting frustrating. Kurt had thought that Blaine talked too much, but now that he wasn't talking to him at all, it was a lot worse. He missed listening to Blaine, even if the boy talked about unimportant things all the time. Blaine was always excited about the smallest things, it made Kurt's days better. Without Blaine's company, he felt lonelier than ever.

He was thinking about finding a way to apologize when he noticed the man. Kurt frowned when he realized that it was Victor. It felt so strange to see him here. He never came to the school, although he called Blaine a lot more often nowadays, he was still too busy to visit his son. The look on his face was enough to know that something was wrong. Very wrong.

Puck showed up behind him only a second later and motioned Kurt to join them. The bodyguard stood up and turned to look at Blaine for a second before turning back to the men. Victor shook his head, silently telling him that it wasn't Blaine he needed to see, but it was too late. Blaine already saw them and left his seat to great his father.

"Dad!" he cried out happily. "What are you doing here?"

Victor looked around in concern.

"Hey, son" he said shortly. "I have to borrow Kurt for a few minutes. If you would excuse us…"

"Is there something wrong?" Blaine frowned.

"Of course not" Victor said quickly. "Go back to your homework. Puck will stay here with you until I talk to Kurt."

"But…"

"We'll have some time after that, okay?" Victor interrupted. He seemed to be in rush and didn't want to give Blaine a chance to talk. He turned around and walked to the door before the boy could ask more and Kurt knew he had to follow him.

"I'll be back as soon as I can" Kurt told Blaine and followed Victor.

Blaine hesitated for a second but then he decided to follow them. He took a step towards the door but then Puck grabbed his arm and gently pulled him back.

"Your father needs to talk to Kurt" Puck told him. "Sit down. They'll be back in no time."

"What's going on?" Blaine asked.

"It's not my job to tell you" Puck answered.

Blaine made another attempt to follow the others but Puck made it clear that he wouldn't let him go anywhere. Blaine groaned in frustration and walked back to his desk. He had no choice, he had to wait here until his father came back, so he could tell him how not okay it was to keep him here against his will.

Kurt followed Victor in silence. It felt strange, not only because he could practically feel how tense the older man was, there was a chance that someone might recognize Blaine's father and they would have a lot to explain. Victor must have known that because he quickly walked to the door of a small room that belonged to the principal and stepped inside without knocking. Kurt raised an eyebrow. It was definitely strange.

"I talked to the principal. He told me that we could use this room" Victor explained.

Kurt followed the man into the room and shut the door. Then he turned to Victor for explanation. Blaine wasn't the only one who wanted to know what was going on.

"We have a problem" Victor said.

"I figured out" Kurt nodded. "You could have called me, you know. Now everybody knows that you're here."

"I'm visiting my son and his friend" Victor shrugged. "No one has to know why I'm here."

"So what are you doing here, Mr Anderson?" Kurt asked.

Victor sighed and walked to the desk in the middle of the room. He chose the most comfortable looking armchair and sat down.

"It's about Blaine" he said.

"I figured out" Kurt said.

"I still don't have news about the men who tried to take him but I have a good reason to think that someone in the school works with them, too" Victor said.

Kurt was pretty sure that his heart stopped for a second. Although he knew that the threat wasn't gone, he had thought that Blaine was safe at school. But if those guys were after him again, that didn't mean anything good. He had to keep Blaine safe. He couldn't let anything happen to him.

"Why do you think so?" he asked carefully.

"It doesn't matter. But you have to find out how is after my son and catch them before it's too late" Victor said.

"Excuse me?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow. Sure, he had beaten up those guys, but only because he hadn't had a choice. Blaine's safety was the most important. It didn't mean he could do his job AND catch some criminal at the same time. He was only a bodyguard after all.

"Look, we both know what you're capable of" Victor said. "I'm getting tired of this situation. Someone wants to hurt my son and I have nothing."

"What do you want me to do?" Kurt asked, already worried of the answer.

"First I want you to think" Victor said. "Is there someone who tried to get closer to Blaine?"

"You know that this is a school and your son has friends, right?" Kurt asked back.

"Well, you have to find out who is his friend and who's only pretending to be one" Victor replied.

"I'm not a cop" Kurt shot back.

"But you're a good bodyguard. Probably better than any other I hired. That's why I wanted you to stay with Blaine, even after your rocky start" Victor said.

"I don't understand" Kurt frowned. Could this conversation get any weirder?

"Blaine might seem to be… a little insensitive. I've tried to keep him away from danger. He doesn't really know people and sometimes he says or does things he shouldn't. I'm well aware of that. But it looks like you two are getting along quite well and I guess I can trust you to keep him safe" Victor said.

"Of course" Kurt nodded. "I'm doing my best but honestly, I'm not sure I can find the person you're looking for and watch Blaine at the same time. It's too risky. What if I get distracted and someone gets to him?"

He shook his head. He still remembered how scared Blaine had been at the mall. He couldn't let anything like that happen to him again. He had to keep him safe, no matter what.

"I need to find them!" Victor shouted.

Kurt took a step back because it was all new to him. Sure, the guy had problems, but this time it was different. It wasn't businessmen Victor Anderson standing in front of him anymore. It was just Blaine's scared father.

"What's going on?" Kurt asked.

"I have a good reason to think that it's one of my former business partners" Victor said quietly. "It can be someone who knows me. You can say an old friend."

"Someone who knows how important Blaine is to you" Kurt continued.

Victor nodded in agreement. He seemed so much older than before. Kurt had already gone through some strangely honest moments with the man but this one was probably the most serious one.

"I know what you think about me. That I'm not a good father" Victor said.

Kurt could have denied it but he wasn't that type. There was no reason to lie anyway. Victor knew exactly what he thought about his relationship with his son.

"I know I'm not. It's so wrong that I needed a stranger like you to tell me what my son was missing to get somewhat closer to him" Victor shook his head. "I might… not be able to show my true feelings most of the time, but that doesn't mean I don't love Blaine. He's my son and I don't want to lose him."

It was just that, a minute, nothing more. Victor took a deep breath and when he stood up, his cold, emotionless side people usually knew was back.

"I'll send Puck here twice a week to train with Blaine" Victor said. "Then you'll have some free time. I want you to think about who might be after my son from these people and use that time to find the one we're looking for. I'll pay you more if that's what you want but I need you to keep this information to yourself."

"Why?" Kurt frowned. He thought that Victor was going to tell Blaine about the possible danger. He needed to know after all.

Victor looked around, as if he was afraid that somebody might hear them. He leaned closer to Kurt and when he spoke up again, he was a lot quieter.

"We can't trust anyone" he said. "Not even the other bodyguards. I'm afraid they aren't all what they seem."

"You mean that nobody else knows about this?" Kurt asked. He wasn't sure if he was comfortable with this. Although he really appreciated that Victor trusted him when he seemingly didn't trust anybody else.

"Puck knows, of course, but he's the only one" Victor said. "I want you to keep it that way. At least until we find those who betrayed me."

"What about Blaine?" Kurt asked.

"Blaine is too young to understand how serious the situation is" Victor answered. "You can't tell him anything."

"How am I supposed to do that? He'll notice that something is wrong. He'll demand answers" Kurt said.

"I trust you to come up with a good explanation" Victor smiled.

"But…"

"You can't tell him anything and that's an order" Victor said seriously. "I don't want to fire you, but I will if you don't give me another choice."

Kurt knew that Victor had some serious problems but asking him to find the mysterious person who might hurt Blaine and not tell him anything at the same time was a crazy idea. Blaine wasn't stupid, he would find out that something was wrong. He would be angry with Kurt. Damn, the boy would never talk to him again if he figured out what was going on…

~ o ~

As he expected, Blaine started asking questions once they returned to their room. Victor didn't stay long after their conversation, he had a few words with Blaine, promised him that they would spend the weekend together and then left, not giving his son a chance to ask questions. So Blaine turned to the only person who knew the truth.

"What did he tell you?" Blaine asked once the door was shut behind them.

"Are you talking to me again? That's nice" Kurt said but didn't look at the boy.

"I might have changed my mind" Blaine shrugged. "So what's going on?"

Kurt remained silent. He had no idea what to do. He knew that going against Victor would be a bad idea. Although the man seemed to like him and allowed him a lot more than he should have, Kurt was pretty sure that he would be fired if Blaine found out what had happened. The boy simply couldn't keep any information to himself, he would go straight to his father to find out more. And then Kurt would be fired in no time. He wasn't worried about his own future, he always got a job when he needed one, but he didn't want to leave Blaine. The boy had gotten so close to him, he wasn't only work anymore. Blaine was his friend. Well, sort of. But he was important and it meant that Kurt wanted to stay close to him, especially now that he had to be careful in the school, too.

"Kurt, you have to tell me" Blaine said when Kurt didn't answer.

"There's nothing to tell you. Your father wanted to discuss a few things with me. It's work" Kurt said noncommittally.

"It's not nothing. My father is a busy man. He never visited me before. Not even when I had an accident at the gym and was brought to the hospital" Blaine said. "Something is wrong, I know. And you're going to tell me what it is."

Kurt didn't want to be angry. Really. He understood Blaine. But he had gotten too many commands from the Andersons that day and he didn't like the tone at all. Was it really so hard to talk to him like he was a person?

"I'm not going to tell you anything" Kurt snorted. "What the hell is wrong with you, people? Do you think that you can have everything because you have money? I have news for you: life doesn't work that way. You can't have everything because you're rich, it's time to learn it. It looks like daddy forgot to teach you that important lesson."

Blaine was surprised by the outburst. Kurt was always so cold, he didn't show any emotion, so the fact that he was able to get angry was kind of you to him. He took a step closer and frowned when he realized that Kurt was worried. Something wasn't right here...

"What's wrong, Kurt?" Blaine asked gently and reached out to touch the bodyguard's shoulder. "I can see that you're worried about something. Is it about me?"

Kurt wanted to say that everything was fine but he couldn't lie to Blaine. It was simply wrong. Blaine needed to know that he had to be careful, for his own safety. That was the most important.

"You can't tell anyone about this, okay?" Kurt said.

"Okay" Blaine said without hesitation.

Kurt believed him. Blaine seemed so serious like never before and he knew that it was the right decision, no matter what Victor said.

"Your father thinks that someone from the school is after you" Kurt started. "We don't know who it is, so he asked me to make a research."

"You-you mean that one of the teachers might work for those guys?" Blaine asked in worry.

"A teacher or a student, we can't be sure" Kurt answered. "We only know that we can't trust anyone."

Blaine sighed and quickly walked to the bed. His legs were shaking and he wasn't sure if he could stand on his feet any longer. Kurt quickly joined him and put an arm around him before he realized what he was doing. Blaine was clearly upset, he had to comfort him.

"Hey, it's going to be alright" Kurt said gently. "I'm here to keep you safe, remember? No one will hurt you, I promise."

"I can't believe this is happening" Blaine shook his head.

"I know it's too much, but you have to believe that everything will be fine" Kurt said. "We'll find those guys and you'll be safe again."

"I'm not sure I'll be safe ever" Blaine said.

"Hey, look at me" Kurt told him.

Blaine took a deep breath and faced the man. He was clearly close to tears. Kurt couldn't blame him. It had to be a lot to take in.

"Wherever you go, I'll be there right beside you" Kurt said. "I won't let anyone get close to you again."

He thought that Blaine wouldn't believe him, but to his surprise, the boy nodded. It surprised him a lot more when Blaine leaned his head on his shoulder. Kurt froze for a second but then put both of his arms around the boy and pulled him close.

"It's gonna be alright" he said quietly. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

It wasn't a lie. Kurt made a silent promise that he would take his job a lot more seriously than ever and he wouldn't let Blaine get hurt again. He would rather die than let anything to happen to Blaine.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I'm sorry for making you wait for this chapter for so long. I hope you like it, though.**

Kurt was seriously worried about Blaine. He had thought that the boy would be able to handle the information he had given him, but he soon realized that he was wrong. Blaine was scared. He didn't have to tell him, it was easy to see. Blaine didn't want to spend time with his friends anymore. He didn't even want to go to Warbler practice and he often skipped dinner, only to return to their room and sit there in complete silence.

He could understand Blaine's fear. Although he had never been in such a situation before, he knew what it was like. He remembered his own teenage years and how bad things had been. A few years later, he saw that things were not as complicated as they seemed. That there was always a solution, he only had to find it. But it had been a lot more complicated back in high school. He had his own bad memories of being bullied, living in fear all the time, feeling that there was no way out. His situation had been a lot different but the feeling was the same. He hadn't had a friend to rely on, to share his most hidden thoughts with. He had been depressed all the time and, although it was hard to admit it now that he was older and didn't have to worry about such things anymore, he had had horrible thoughts. He remembered thinking about ending his life one time when Karofsky had threatened him. He had been too scared to tell his dad or anybody else about the boy, he had been so hopeless that he hadn't thought that there was a way out. But he had found it. Blaine might have been scared right now, he might have believed that it would never be over, but he was wrong. And Kurt had to make him see that he had nothing to worry about. Because he was here and he would never let anyone touch the boy.

"Hey" he said as he took a seat beside Blaine who was sitting on his bed, pretending to be busy with his homework. Since he hadn't moved at all in the past five minutes or so, Kurt knew that he was lost in his thoughts again. "We have such a beautiful day today. Don't you want to go out a bit?"

"I have a lot of homework" Blaine said.

"You have three more days to finish this" Kurt pointed at the paper at Blaine's feet. "I can help you with it. You know that I speak French quite well."

"I should do it on my own" Blaine replied.

"Well, you can do it later" Kurt said. "Come on. You need fresh air."

Blaine sighed and finally looked up at him.

"Kurt, I'm tired. I don't want to go anywhere, okay? Just… let me finish this" he said.

It was so not like Blaine. Kurt had gotten to know a boy full of life, someone who always smiled and was full of light. This boy was not the Blaine he knew. And he wanted to get the old one back.

"If you're tired, you won't be able to finish it anyway" he said. "Come with me."

He grabbed the boy's hand and stood up. He hoped that Blaine would realize that he wasn't going to leave him alone unless he said yes and he didn't have to drag him out of the room. Blaine really needed some fresh air and sunlight. He was so pale again, it was definitely not good for his health.

Blaine didn't fight, although he wasn't too excited to go with him either. He followed Kurt in silence, like when he had to do something he didn't want. Kurt knew this side of Blaine way too well and he was determined to change the boy's mood.

"Where are we going?" Blaine asked when they left the building.

Kurt stopped for a moment. He had no idea where they were heading, really. He only knew that he hated seeing Blaine upset and he had to do something to change that. He went through their options. They could find an empty classroom and talk. That would be way. Only it wouldn't help Blaine forget about the people who were after him. No. They could sing. There was the duet they had to practice, and Blaine loved singing. One look at the boy was enough to know that it wasn't what Blaine needed at the moment.

"Outside" Kurt said in the end.

Blaine raised an eyebrow. By outside Kurt didn't mean… outside, right?

"Yes, we're leaving" Kurt said, a lot more determinedly this time.

"But-but we can't just leave the campus…"

"Why not?" Kurt asked.

"Be-because it's too dangerous" Blaine said. "You told me yourself. What if someone attacks us?"

"Stay with me and nothing will happen" Kurt said. He walked to Blaine's car and opened the door for him. "I'm driving."

"It's my car!"

"And you don't know where we are going" Kurt said quickly and gently pushed the boy forward. "Come on, Blaine, we don't have the whole day."

Blaine shook his head and muttered something but did as he was told. Kurt sighed in relief. He didn't want to waste more time convincing Blaine that that was what he needed. Or answer more question. Honesty, he had no idea where they were heading. He knew that Blaine needed fresh air and something to keep his thoughts away from the threats, but nothing good came into his mind. They could have coffee. Coffee was nice. But the crowd was probably the last thing Blaine needed. They could go to a park. There were many around. No, that wasn't a good idea either.

Without knowing what he was doing, Kurt drove out of the town and towards a place he hadn't visited in a good while. He didn't even realized what he was doing until Blaine talked to him again.

"Why are we in Lima?"

Kurt blinked in surprise. Blaine was right, they were in Lima. His hometown. The place he avoided so carefully. And now they were here and he couldn't even explain why. For what stupid reason did he bring Blaine here? That was definitely not what he needed. Blaine was such a sensitive kid, he would only upset him. That was the worst he could do. Blaine needed his support. He needed to know that he was safe with him. That he could live his life without fear.

When they arrive to their destination, Kurt understood why he brought Blaine here. He knew what he expected from this trip.

"I want to show you something" Kurt explained and got out of the car.

"In the cemetery?" Blaine asked with wide eyes.

"Just come with me, okay?" Kurt said impatiently. This place always made him upset. Just one look at a certain gravestone made him cry. Now he had to keep it together, though. No tears in front of Blaine. Or anyone else.

"I seriously don't understand" Blaine shook his head as they made their way through the dark place.

"You wanted to get to know me better" Kurt said. "Well, then you have to see this."

Although they could barely see anything, Kurt's feet led him to the right place without needing to see anything at all. He had been here a million times after all. Every single day after his father's death, sometimes twice a day. Letting go of the most important person of his life had been hard. He wasn't sure if he was over it at all. Sometimes it felt like grief was part of his days and he couldn't forget about it for a second, not even when he wanted to. That was what made him so distant and unable to be happy. He had already lost someone he loved so much. Not just his father. He had grown up without his mother, his sweet mother who had loved him so much. It would have been too much for anyone. No wonder he was scared of letting anyone too close. He was scared of losing them.

He still cared about Blaine, probably more than anyone else in a good while, and knew that letting him know about his life would make him feel a little bit better. That was what Blaine wanted after all. He wanted to know more about Kurt's past. Well, the time was here.

"Elizabeth and Burt Hummel" Blaine read the names loudly. "Wait, your mother died when you were about… seven?"

"Eight" Kurt answered. "Yes. Car accident. She died only hours later. The doctors couldn't save her."

"That must have been awful" Blaine said.

"I don't really remember it" Kurt said. "Well, I remember how I felt, but I don't remember too much. I only have a few memories of her. Like playing with her or cooking together. She also loved singing. She had a wonderful voice. She wanted to be a singer."

"Why didn't she become one?" Blaine asked.

"Because of me" Kurt smiled. "I came too early."

Blaine started to understand the things Kurt had told him earlier. No wonder he seemed to know everything so well. His story was so similar.

"You loved them" he said knowingly.

"Everybody loves their parents" Kurt shrugged.

"It's not like that" Blaine replied. "You loved them so much, even I can tell. You must have been really close."

"We were" Kurt nodded. "My parents loved children, but my mother couldn't get pregnant after me. So I was their only prince. That's how she called me. Yes, we spent a lot of time together. They thought that it was important and of course it was! I have wonderful memories of my childhood."

"It had to be hard for your father" Blaine said next. "Raising a child alone…"

"It was hard" Kurt nodded. "Especially at the beginning. We had to get used to a completely different life. We struggled a lot. I have no idea how much time it took for us to figure out how to do everything on our own. Mom did almost everything at home, it seemed so natural. So we had a lot to learn when she passed away."

"How did your father take it?" Blaine asked. He had his own experience but he wanted to know how it worked for others. He had a feeling that Kurt's father had done a better job than his own.

"He was depressed" Kurt said carefully. "He was barely keeping it together. But he was also very strong. He never let anything ruin our days and always found a way get the best out of the situation. When we wanted to cry, he made ourselves laugh. He was a wonderful man. I remember our first Christmas after my mom's death. She loved Christmas and always bought the tree before my father could get home. In that year when we lost her, my father forgot completely about the Christmas tree. He only remembered when he came home from work late that night and found me hanging decoration on the curtain. He told me to grab my coat and we went out together to get a Christmas tree. That was when I realized how much he loved me. I guess that was the first time I smiled after my mother's death."

"Your father was an amazing man" Blaine said in awe.

"He was" Kurt nodded.

Blaine noticed how hard it was for Kurt to speak about his father. No wonder, if the two of them had been so close, he must have been devastated after losing him. Blaine couldn't imagine the pain. Although he had his own fights with his father, he didn't want to lose him. Having no parents at all… Kurt must have felt so lonely. It made everything clear, like why Kurt was always so distant. It had to be hard to let anyone close when he already lost the most important people of his life.

"What happened?" Blaine asked gently.

"Heart attack" Kurt said quietly.

Blaine waited for him to continue but Kurt seemed to be lost in his thoughts. He kept his eyes on the gravestone as if he expected something to happen. As if it could make it possible to talk to his parents again.

"How?" Blaine asked. He hoped that Kurt wouldn't get angry after so many questions.

"They don't know" Kurt shrugged. "It happened so suddenly. He went to work like every other day. I was at school when I was told. I ran to him immediately, of course, but it was too late. He was in coma and never woke up."

"I'm so sorry, Kurt" Blaine said.

Kurt only nodded but kept his eyes on the gravestone. Blaine didn't know what to do. He wanted to comfort Kurt, he wanted to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright, even if it wasn't true. Kurt missed his parents, that was clear. It had happened years earlier and he still wasn't over it. He would probably never be. Blaine could understand how he felt, he had lost his own mother after all. It had left emptiness behind. Although his father was still alive and they seemed to be closer these days, it wasn't the same. But Kurt, poor Kurt… he was all alone. It had to be so hard. No wonder he was always so serious. How could he smile when it hurt so much?

"You must feel so lonely" Blaine said quietly.

"I've learned to live with it" Kurt shrugged.

"Is it true?" Blaine asked.

Kurt closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Blaine knew what he was doing. He wanted to gather his strength to face him and lie to him. But Blaine knew him too well to know what to expect.

"You can talk to me" Blaine said. "If you want to talk honestly, I'm here. You can share everything with me."

"You're too young to understand" Kurt shook his head.

"I might be young but I lost my mother, remember? I know how much it hurts" Blaine said.

"No one knows" Kurt said before he could stop himself.

Blaine sighed and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. He wanted to help him so sadly. Only Kurt didn't seem like he needed help. Or better, wanted help. Even if Blaine wanted to make him feel better, Kurt pushed him away. It didn't make much sense. He had brought Blaine here for a reason and definitely not to tell him the truth and then push him away again. Maybe Kurt found it hard to talk about his feelings, but he was ready. And Blaine appreciated that Kurt wanted to share the most important details of his life with him.

"You can trust me, you know" Blaine said.

Kurt shook his head and took a step away. He should have known that bringing Blaine here was a bad idea. He was always weak when he came near this place and the last thing he wanted was to seem weak in front of the boy who needed him strong so much. He had to keep it together. He couldn't let his emotions take over control.

"As I said, you're too young. I don't even know why I took you here. Maybe I just wanted to check on the grave. I haven't been here for a good while and needed to see if it was alright. It is, so I guess it's time to go back to school" Kurt said and tried to slow down his movements. It was hard when he wanted to run, as if he could run away from everything.

"I guess you feel like you can talk to me" Blaine said. Unfortunately, he didn't move from his place and since he couldn't let him alone, Kurt was forced to stay, too. "That's nice. After what you told me the other day, I thought you were serious."

"I am!" Kurt said.

"I think you need a friend after all" Blaine smiled at him. "Don't worry. I won't tell anyone that your best friend is a teenager."

"I never said that we were friends" Kurt said.

"Sure" Blaine smiled.

"I don't need a new friend. I have plenty of them" Kurt said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

"Why do I never see them?" Blaine asked back. He finally turned away from the gravestone and with Kurt's help, he started to walk back to the car.

"Because… Because they're busy" Kurt explained. "They work a lot. I work a lot, too. When should I meet them when I have to watch you all the time?"

"You could have a day or two off anytime, like everybody else" Blaine replied.

"What if you run away again?"

"I told you that I would never do that again."

"I don't believe you."

"But I…"

Blaine didn't see too much in the darkness. He didn't know the place either, so of course his feet found a hole in the ground. He lost his balance and fell forward. Kurt saw it, too, and reached out just in time to catch the boy. Blaine landed right in his arms and when Kurt pulled him up, he turned around to face the man. Kurt's face was so close to his that he could feel the bodyguard's hot breath on his cheek. It was the first time he got so close to Kurt without being upset to notice how perfectly shaped Kurt's lips were. They surely tasted sweet...

Blaine would have done something stupid for sure if Kurt didn't step away from him in that moment. Unfortunately, the electricity running through his body didn't seem to affect Kurt. Or did it? It was hard to make it out in the darkness but it seemed like Kurt was blushing. Was it possible?

"You should pay attention" Kurt said.

Blaine only nodded. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't have been able to say anything without making a complete idiot of himself. Like telling Kurt that he loved him.

Wait a second… That was new. Okay, Blaine had noticed that Kurt was hot. He also knew that Kurt was an amazing man, no matter what others said. He was Blaine's hero, the one who had saved him. But Kurt also cared about him, a lot, more than he should. Did it mean something? Was it possible that Kurt felt the same? It would have been wonderful.

"Blaine, are you coming?" Kurt asked impatiently.

"Sure" Blaine muttered. He forced himself to move again but this time he was unable to take his eyes off of Kurt. Sweet, mysterious Kurt. Kurt who shared his biggest secret with Blaine. It had to mean something good. He deserved something good to happen to him, right?

Blaine smiled and walked faster to catch up with Kurt. He finally started to understand the man and he loved what he saw. He was sure that one day soon Kurt would also see that Blaine was who he needed. He would help him come to the realization if he had to. Kurt deserved to be happy after all.


	15. Chapter 15

**Hi Everyone!**

 **I know it's been a while. I have a lot of work to do and unfortunately, I'm going to have a surgery soon. That means a lot of doctor's visits and that makes me really tired. I hope things get easier after I recover.**

 **But let's see what we have here, right?**

 **I'm updating all of my stories, you really deserve it after waiting for so long. Enjoy!**

"Focus, Blaine."

Blaine took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He made himself a promise not to comment what they were doing. Just for one day. He wanted to give Kurt a chance to teach him how to defend himself. What they were doing didn't make much sense, though.

"I'm trying. But it's so hard" Blaine said.

"Take deep breath. Close your eyes. Listen to the music" Kurt told him.

Blaine made another attempt but nothing changed. His muscles hurt like hell and keeping himself upwards became harder with every passed second. He only wanted to give in to gravitation and lie down onto the soft mat beneath him.

"Yoga helps you empty your head and get rid of stress" Kurt said. "Now push yourself up to downward dog."

Blaine groaned. He knew that these poses were easy in Kurt's crazy universe but when he tried to do them, he simply felt like everything hurt. He could barely keep himself from falling and everything hurt. A lot. Not to mention that he didn't see what good yoga could do to him. He wanted to learn self-defense. He could surely not defend himself with some yoga poses.

"Why aren't we training?" Blaine asked. He simply gave up. He knew that his arms couldn't support his weight anymore, so he simply sat down. Kurt didn't follow him, so Blaine got a perfect view of his toned limbs. He licked his lower lip. Kurt's body was absolutely breathtaking, especially in these tight clothes. Maybe some yoga wouldn't hurt after all...

"Punching each other is not everything we have to do" Kurt told him. "You have to stay cool in every situation. You have to think straight. These exercises help you with that. Besides, you're awfully stressful these days."

"Can you blame me?" Blaine snorted. Kurt leaned forward to stretch his right leg and Blaine followed the movement with his head. Kurt's ass was very nice. More than nice, it was absolutely perfect. He wondered what Kurt would do to him if he touched his ass. He could say that it was accidental. Knowing how clumsy he was, Kurt would surely believe him. He only had to get a little bit closer and then…

Kurt got back to his feet and turned to look at Blaine. He was moving too quickly for Blaine who was still distracted by the beautiful sight that had been there right in front of his eyes just a second earlier. The boy slipped and with a low groan, he landed on his stomach on the purple yoga mat. He closed his eyes, feeling humiliated. He wanted to seem cool in Kurt's eyes but he always screwed up. No wonder Kurt handled him like a baby. He wasn't a real man, even if he wanted to be so badly. He couldn't be farther from that actually.

"We have to work on your balance, too" Kurt sighed and grabbed Blaine's arms to help him up from the ground.

Blaine wanted to show him that he was perfectly fine on his own and tried to get up as quickly and gracefully as Kurt, but of course, luck wasn't on his side. He tripped over the edge of the yoga mat and yelped as he fell forward again. At least Kurt was there to catch him. Like always. Blaine started to wonder if it was his subconscious playing with him. He wanted to get close to Kurt and ended up quite close to him every time he fell. That happened way too often these days. As much as he enjoyed Kurt's strong arms around himself, he also knew that he had to do something about it, fast, if he wanted to get close to Kurt in a very different way.

"We have to work quite hard" Kurt nodded.

"Sorry" Blaine muttered.

"You have to pay attention, Blaine" Kurt said. "Are the threats still concerning you? Is that why you seem so distracted all the time?"

Partly, that was the reason, but what distracted Blaine wasn't really the danger but the realization that his bodyguard was so hot and clever and he started to fall in love with him. Only he couldn't tell Kurt that.

"Yeah" he said, looking away.

Kurt must have thought that he felt ashamed for being scared, because he put a hand on Blaine's shoulder and squeezed it lightly.

"You have to trust me" Kurt said. "I won't let anything happen to you."

"I know" Blaine whispered. Of course he knew. Kurt was wonderful.

"Very good" Kurt smiled. "Now let's go back to training! You have to practice a lot!"

Blaine sighed. He wished he could tell Kurt how he felt.

~ o ~

"Somebody seems distracted today."

Blaine blinked in surprise. He was studying so hard that he didn't notice that Jeff joined him. Okay, he wasn't really focusing on his homework. He was studying Kurt's face, knowing that he was safe to do so while they were in the library. It had been Kurt's idea to choose different tables and study separately. People had already noticed that they spent too much time together and Kurt didn't want to answer questions that made him uncomfortable. They stayed close to each other but still not too close to make anyone suspicious. They had to be careful, especially since they didn't know whom they could trust.

"I hate math" Blaine told his friend.

"You're not the only one" Jeff smiled. "Why don't you ask your French friend to help you? I guess he would be a great tutor."

"Kurt has to study, too" Blaine said. "You know that it's harder for him to understand things."

"His English is perfect" Jeff said. "To be honest, I can't believe he's an exchange student. He never makes mistakes."

"That's because he's trying really hard" Blaine said. He tried not to panic. What if somebody figured out that Kurt wasn't a real exchange student? What if they learned their secret? Damn, they should have come up with a better story…

"You might be right" Jeff nodded.

In his panicked state, Blaine almost missed how Jeff looked at Kurt. Almost. But he knew his friend way too well and he liked Kurt too much to miss the longing in Jeff's eyes.

"He's quite hot, don't you think?" Jeff asked next.

"Jeff!" Blaine gasped. He couldn't believe it. Okay, he knew that Jeff liked boys. No, he liked every single male he met. And he did a lot more than that. But Kurt, seriously? For the first time in his life, Blaine finally fell for someone and Jeff had to ruin his chances? Blaine wanted to die. Life was so unfair.

"What? He is hot" Jeff shrugged.

"Jeff, you think that every single man is hot" Blaine pointed out.

"I know, but look at him" Jeff smiled and nodded towards Kurt.

Kurt must have heard them talk or simply felt that someone was watching him, because he looked up from the book he was reading and turned right towards them. Blaine blushed and quickly turned his head away. The last thing he needed was that Kurt found out how he felt. How could he look into his eyes after that? No, that would be horrible.

"Oh, I know this look" Jeff smiled.

Blaine carefully raised his head to look at his friend.

"I have no idea what you're talking about" Blaine said.

"Come on, Blaine, I know you since kindergarten" Jeff said and leaned closer to him, his voice a lot quieter when he talked again. "You have a crush on him."

"What?" Blaine asked with wide eyes. "That-that's not true…"

"So you don't mind if I ask him if he wants to see a movie with me, right?" Jeff smiled.

"Don't you dare" Blaine hissed.

"I knew it!" Jeff cried out excitedly.

Now it wasn't just Kurt watching the two of them curiously. Blaine quickly grabbed his friend's arm and pulled him away from the table and other students. He knew that he couldn't leave, not without Kurt, but he hoped that they had some privacy behind the bookshelves.

"You have to be quiet" Blaine whispered.

"Why? We both know that you won't tell him. I'm just trying to help you" Jeff said.

"Don't" Blaine said. "Please don't do this to me."

"You have to tell him" Jeff reasoned. "I know that you like waiting with everything, but in this situation, you shouldn't hesitate any longer. Just go and tell him."

"That's not so simple" Blaine said in concern. He hoped that Kurt stayed in his seat and didn't hear the two of them talk.

"Yes, it is" Jeff said. "What are you so scared of?"

Well, Blaine had a lot of reasons. First of all, Kurt was a lot older than him. Okay, not a lot-lot older but still… he was an experienced man and Blaine… Well, he wasn't. He knew practically nothing about love. He didn't know how relationships worked. He was also worried that he might ruin their friendship if he told Kurt how he felt. They were finally fine, they enjoyed the time they spent together, Blaine didn't want to ruin that. He looked down at himself next. It was a lot easier for Jeff, he was tall and blond and talked so easily. He could get anyone he wanted because he had everything he needed for that. Blaine, on the other hand, was far from hot and he always screwed up when Kurt was around. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't even form a proper word and his romantic confession would turn into disaster. No, Kurt could never find out how he felt. At least nor from him. He would just stay quiet and wait for Kurt to realize that they were meant for each other.

Blaine sighed and closed his eyes. Only a few days earlier, at the cemetery, things had seemed so much easier. Maybe because Kurt had shared his secret with him, Blaine had felt like they were so close, that he could talk to Kurt openly, that the man would understand him and everything would be fine. But days had passed and Blaine had had way too much to think. His first wild ideas about confessing his love seemed crazy now and he was just too scared to do anything.

"It's complicated" he said in the end, remembering that Jeff was standing right in front of him, waiting for his answer.

"It's only complicated because you want it to be" Jeff said.

Blaine smiled sadly. If Jeff had known...

"Fine. I'll help you" Jeff said with a heavy sign.

"It's not necessary…"

"Have you talked about your song?" Jeff asked.

"Which song?" Blaine asked in confusion.

"Your duet, you idiot" Jeff rolled his eyes.

Oh. OH! There was the duet. The one he had to sing with Kurt.

"Well, we didn't really have time for…"

"You have to pick a romantic song" Jeff said. "I think I might have an idea or two. What if…"

"We can choose a song with Kurt, thanks" Blaine said hastily. "Besides, I don't think he wants a romantic duet."

"Why not? It's a perfect idea! The judges will love it. Besides, while practicing a romantic song…"

"No, Jeff" Blaine sighed heavily. He knew Kurt. He simply wasn't the type who appreciated love songs. Besides, Blaine didn't want to ruin their friendship without making sure that Kurt was ready. And knowing that Kurt was so different with different taste and different plans and different everything, that time would never come. Blaine should simply give up before Kurt broke his heart.

"But…"

"Is everything alright?"

Blaine jumped in surprise as Kurt appeared in front of them. His wide eyes tried to find signs on Kurt's face of what he might have heard. Blaine hoped that he didn't hear too much of his embarrassing conversation with Jeff, but he knew that he wasn't too lucky. What if Kurt heard everything? Blaine would die right there.

"Sure" Jeff said easily. "We're just talking about your song."

"The duet?" Kurt asked. At least he didn't forget about it.

"Jeff's trying to give us ideas" Blaine said hastily, then turned to glare at his friend. "Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to get what we want to know."

"I don't get it either" Kurt shrugged. "I guess we should start working on it. The competition is coming up and we have to win it."

Blaine blinked in surprise. He had thought that Kurt hated the idea of singing with him. Maybe he had changed his mind? Maybe he wanted to spend more time with Blaine and working on their song was a good excuse? Blaine wanted to believe in that so badly, but he couldn't be so stupid. He knew Kurt and how important his job was for him. Maybe he only knew that the competition was important for Blaine and he wanted to make him happy. As his friend. Nothing more. Yeah, that had to be it.

"Blaine?"

Blaine forced himself from coming up with other stupid ideas and focused on Kurt instead. Kurt who seemed genuinely worried for some reason. Maybe because Blaine zoomed out and had no idea what Kurt was talking about.

"I'm sorry. I can't stop thinking about the song" Blaine said quickly. "It has to be a good song."

"I agree" Jeff nodded. "I have dozens of ideas. What if you two…"

"Thanks, Jeff, but we have to find the right song together" Blaine said quickly, knowing his friend way too well. "We should start working on it tomorrow, after classes. We have no more time to waste."

"Fine" Kurt agreed. "I guess we can use the choir room."

"You definitely can" Jeff smiled. "I'll make sure nobody disturbs you two."

Kurt seemed confused. Blaine was worried that he might ask Jeff what he was talking about and Jeff would tell him everything. That would be a total disaster. Blaine wasn't ready to tell Kurt the truth. Not yet.

"That's great" Blaine said. "Uhm, Kurt, you promised me a yoga session for today."

"Did I?" Kurt frowned.

"Sure" Blaine said with a forced smile. "We have to work on my sore muscles, remember?"

"I have a way better solution for that" Jeff smirked.

Blaine wanted to die. Why was his friend doing that to him? That was so not fair!

"Yoga, now! Come on, Kurt, we have to hurry" Blaine said and grabbed Kurt's arm. He wanted to get out of here as fast as possible.

"I'm glad you're so excited" Kurt said, seemingly not knowing that was going on. "It'll help you improve..."

"Sure it will. Hurry!" Blaine said as he dragged Kurt out of the library.

Kurt smiled in satisfaction. Maybe Blaine wasn't that lazy after all.

~ o ~

Things only got worse the next day when it was just the two of them in the choir room. Sure, it wasn't the first time they spent time together without anyone disturbing them, but it was different. Blaine was excited and worried at the same time. He wanted to listen to Jeff, pick a nice love song and tell Kurt everything. He had already played with the idea and imagined what it would be like. Kurt would realize that he was in love with him and tell him that he loved Blaine. Then they would kiss. It wouldn't be a forced one like in the movies where lips barely touched, no. It would be passionate like those Blaine had read about his very secret romantic books. That made hearts beat like crazy. That changed the whole world.

Unfortunately, the reasonable part of his mind take over control after a while and told him what an idiot he was and if he didn't want his remaining time with Kurt to be spent more awkwardly, he should keep his mouth shout about his feelings. He had already had this silent conversation with himself. He would never be good enough for Kurt. He was just a boy, maybe a friend for Kurt but nothing more. And he would never be. So he should stop dreaming about the two of them and think rationally.

"What do you mean?"

Blaine blinked a few times and needed way too many time to remember that he wasn't alone. Or that he should have said something to Kurt's ideas for the duet. Or that he must have said something that should have been kept well hidden in his mind. Damn.

"Don't you like the song?" Kurt asked. "I don't think it's such a bad idea, and it definitely doesn't seem irrational to me. I thought that kids liked this kind of music."

Blaine closed his eyes and forced himself not to groan. A kid. That was what Kurt thought he was. Just a child, not someone who might be his partner. What was Blaine thinking? Kurt would never see him like a man.

"Blaine, is everything alright?" Kurt asked in concern.

"Sure" Blaine said with a forced smile.

"You don't seem fine at all" Kurt continued. "Is it about the threats? Because I already told you, you have nothing to worry about. I'm here and I won't let anyone hurt you."

Wasn't he the sweetest man of the world?

"Blaine?"

"Yeah?"

"What's wrong with you?"

Blaine had to do something to stop himself from daydreaming so often. Kurt probably thought that he started to turn crazy from all the craziness around him. He couldn't let that happen. His dad would take him to the therapist again and Blaine hated those sessions. He didn't even need them. He had the best bodyguard of the world to keep him safe. He didn't need anything else.

"I guess I'm tired" Blaine said the first thing that came into his mind.

"You don't sleep too well" Kurt nodded.

Blaine turned towards him immediately.

"Wait. You watch me when I sleep?" he asked slowly.

"When you have nightmares? Sure! I also woke you up the other day and we talked about your dream. Don't you remember?"

Maybe that therapist wouldn't be a bad idea after all...

"Please, tell me I didn't say anything embarrassing" Blaine sighed.

"Why would you? It's kind of normal. This situation must be so stressful" Kurt said.

"You have no idea" Blaine muttered, although he knew very well that they weren't talking aobut the same thing.

"Your dad wants to talk to you about it when we go home for the weekend" Kurt said.

"You talked to dad?" Blaine cried out. "Why did you do that?"

"Because you're so strange" Kurt said. "I think you should discuss your fears with someone you trust."

"And you think it should be my father?" Blaine asked with wide eyes. How could things get worse? Was it even possible?

"Well…"

"Why am I so unlucky?" Blaine wondered loudly. If Kurt finally realized how he felt… At least he hid his feelings well if Kurt didn't see what was really going on. Maybe he could fool his father, too. He had to. He certainly didn't want to lose Kurt. He couldn't.

"It's gonna be alright" Kurt said reassuringly.

Blaine closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. He wasn't so sure that it was easy to solve his problems. Definitely not the one with his feelings for Kurt. What he should do, he had no idea. He only knew that he was too scared to tell Kurt the truth, but hiding his feelings became harder with every passed day. Kurt would surely figure out sooner or later and then… Blaine didn't want to think about what would happen then. He was afraid that Kurt would break his heart and he would lose him. He couldn't let that happen. He had to be strong and careful not to give Kurt any sign of what was going on.

"You must be right" he said with a forced smile. "You know what? I think I might have an idea for our song."

"That's it!" Kurt smiled. "See? You only have to focus on the good things. You'll get over this. I swear."

Blaine had a bad feeling that it wouldn't be that easy at all.


	16. Chapter 16

**Hi Everyone!**

 **The new chapter is finally here, enjoy! Thank you for waiting so patiently! I'm going to have another surgery on Thursday but that's the last one if everything goes well. I hope I'll be back soon.**

Blaine so didn't want to talk with his dad. Or anybody else. He knew that he was acting strangely lately, mostly when it was just him and Kurt and it was so hard to focus on anything but the man, but other than that, he was alright. Seriously. Okay, maybe he had nightmares, but it wasn't really a big deal, right? It was kind of normal, considering that he was living in constant fear. Unfortunately, Kurt didn't agree with him, especially after Blaine fell asleep in the middle of glee rehearsal one day. It wasn't because he got tired of fighting over which Pink song to sing to their upcoming competition. He enjoyed fighting over songs, especially when it was about such an amazing and talented woman who happened to be one of his favorites, too. He was simply tired. It happened sometimes.

Kurt thought that it was a bad sign and Blaine was close to needing a therapist. He shared his concerns with Victor, too, without talking to Blaine first, and since his father seemed to be concerned about his well-being, more so than ever, Blaine was about to face a very long and very uncomfortable conversation, something he didn't need at all.

"I can't believe you talked to my father about my problems" Blaine said on their way home. It was Friday afternoon, he should have been happy to have a few days off, but he only wanted to go back to school and hide in his room until Monday morning.

"You have to talk to someone" Kurt shrugged.

"I talked to you" Blaine pointed out.

"It doesn't seem enough" Kurt said.

"I'm fine" Blaine told him.

"Blaine, you barely sleep, you barely eat, you're moody all the time…"

"Is it about the other day when I yelled at you? I already told you, I'm sorry" Blaine said. "It's just… I'm really nervous about our song."

Kurt didn't say anything but as he looked at Blaine, the boy knew that he didn't believe him.

"Fine. I might be a little scared of the situation but it's normal" Blaine said.

"I know it is, but I still think you should share your thoughts with your dad" Kurt said.

"He doesn't know a thing!" Blaine shouted.

Kurt sighed heavily. He could never be sure what to expect from Blaine. Sometimes he was sweet, sometimes angry, sometimes close to tears. It wasn't good at all.

"Give him a chance. He might surprise you" Kurt said quietly.

Blaine wasn't convinced. He knew his father. Okay, he tried quite hard these days, but it wasn't the same. He couldn't make it up for years of doing nothing.

"It's gonna be fun" Kurt continued when Blaine didn't say anything. "Just you and your dad. You'll have a chance to distract yourself. You could watch a movie, for example. You said that you always wanted to do that with your dad."

"When I was younger" Blaine pointed out. He already regretted that he had told Kurt so much about himself. He had thought that Kurt would keep it private.

"Oh, come on. Just give him a chance" Kurt said. "What can you lose?"

Blaine realized that he lost precious minutes of his life as he was left alone with his father that night. Dinner alone was awkward enough, but then his father suggested to move to his study and talk. Blaine felt always uncomfortable in that room, probably because that was the place where his father gave him those long and boring speeches about how he should act. Blaine didn't feel relaxed at all. He remained silent and waited for his father to say something, to get over with this conversation as soon as possible.

"So" Victor started when it became clear that Blaine wouldn't say anything. "How are you doing at school?"

Blaine raised an eyebrow. Could his father be a little less formal?

"Blaine, you did nothing wrong. That's not why we are here" Victor smiled. He did it quite often nowadays, but it still felt strange. "I just want to know what's happened to you since I saw you."

He seemed so honest and also somewhat concerned. Probably because Kurt had told him too much. There wasn't much Blaine could do, he had to tell his father about what happened. Well, some of that. He certainly couldn't tell his dad that he was in love with his bodyguard.

"I have problems" Blaine admitted.

"Why is that so?" Victor asked.

Because Kurt told me what you should have, that someone at Dalton might be after me, Blaine wanted to say. He reminded himself that he shouldn't have been so well-informed, so telling his father what he knew probably wasn't a good idea. Who knew, maybe he would kick Kurt out. That was the least Blaine wanted.

"This situation makes me really exhausted" Blaine said. That was true. "I-I can't forget that there are people out there who want to hurt me."

"Oh, Blaine" Victor smiled sadly. "I know that this is really hard for you, but you have to know, you have nothing to worry about. Kurt's there to keep you safe."

Blaine smiled weakly. He was glad that he had Kurt but it didn't make the fear go away. It only made everything harder. He cared about Kurt, a lot, and he was worried that Kurt might get hurt while protecting him. He couldn't let that happen. Kurt meant too much to him.

"How are you two doing?" Victor asked next.

Blaine opened his mouth to share his experiences with his father. It would have been so easy to tell him how nice Kurt was, how he tried to help Blaine get through these hard days. That they had gone to the cemetery and Kurt had shared his biggest secrets with him. That Kurt talked to him a lot to make his relationship to his father better. That he was the most amazing person Blaine had ever known. But he stopped himself in time, before he could say anything embarrassing. He had a feeling that his father wouldn't have been too pleased to hear what the two of them were doing behind everybody's back.

"Fine" Blaine said.

"Just fine?" Victor asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you want with that, dad?" Blaine asked back.

"Nothing. But you two seem to get along quite well and that's new. I mean…"

"I know what you mean" Blaine sighed. "I'm doing my best, dad. I understand that having Kurt around is necessary and I'm trying to be nice to him. I don't want another bodyguard. I'm getting tired of having a new one all the time."

"I'm glad to hear that" Victor nodded. "Are you ready for the competition?"

"We still have to practice our song" Blaine answered. "The Warblers chose Kurt to sing with me, so it's easier. We can sing whenever we want."

"You can practice tomorrow. I have to go to work anyway" Victor said.

"Again?" Blaine asked in disappointment.

"There's that new company I want to buy…"

"You know what? I don't think I want to hear about that" Blaine said quickly. Sometimes he questioned his father's choices and that only led to fights. He didn't want to fight again. Finally, the two of them started to act like a real family, he didn't want to lose that.

"I'll be back by lunch" Victor promised. "We could play tennis in the afternoon. What do you think?"

Tennis wasn't Blaine's favorite sport but he wanted to spend more time with his father, so it didn't matter.

"That would be great" he said.

"It's decided then" Victor smiled. "Are you hungry? If I'm correct, Mrs Hudson got you some of that ice cream you like so much."

"Mrs Hudson will make me fat one day" Blaine smiled.

"I don't think you have to worry about that" Victor snorted.

~ o ~

It was Saturday night and Kurt was on his way to the kitchen. It was too late to be awake but he couldn't sleep. It happened sometimes, when he couldn't make himself stop thinking about something. This time it was Blaine. Okay, it was Blaine most of the time. He couldn't help it, he was worried about the kid. He started to regret telling Blaine what he had talked about with his father. Although Blaine told him that he was fine, that it was okay, Blaine was far from being fine. It made Kurt worried that he had nightmares way too often and it affected his work at school. Blaine told him that he was just stressed because of the competition, but it was clearly not true. Blaine didn't even care about the competition anymore. He went to Warbler rehearsals but he was miles away. He probably didn't even know what their group number would be. And there was the duet they had to practice, the duet they still hadn't chosen. Blaine had told him that he had a good idea but Kurt still didn't know what it was. Blaine surely didn't have any idea, he was too caught up in his family drama, so it meant Kurt had to come up with something, preferably fast.

He tried to think about songs they could sing. Kurt knew that waiting for Blaine was stupid, he thought that he should pick a song himself and tell Blaine to sing it. Only he couldn't make himself think about that damn song either. How could he when Blaine was clearly not fine? He was always so pale, so tired, so depressed. It was hard to see him like that. Kurt wanted to help him so badly but he had no idea what to say. That it would be alright? Sure, he hoped that it would be true but they couldn't be sure. Those guys were clever and Kurt didn't know where to find them. Anyone at school could be an enemy and Kurt felt like he wasn't enough to keep Blaine safe if necessary. He was worried that he might fail and then Blaine would get hurt because of him.

Knowing that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep, he decided to make himself a coffee and spend the night searching for suitable songs. At least they would have something to talk about with Blaine on Monday. The boy seemed awfully distracted these days, it was so hard to have a real conversation with him and Kurt missed it so much.

He was almost at the kitchen's door when he noticed that there was somebody in there. Somebody who was singing on the top of that. Kurt frowned and reached for the handle. It could only be Blaine, the only person who sang in this household. The only question was what he was doing in the kitchen so late. He should have been in his room.

"...You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream, the way you turn me on…"

Kurt slowly opened the door but didn't step inside. Blaine was alone in the kitchen, singing and dancing, doing something at the counter Kurt couldn't see. The man took his time watching the boy. Blaine rarely sang since that incident at the mall, it was good to see him happy for once. It was a very good sight, Kurt admitted. Not only because Blaine seemed so happy this time but also because he was dressed in nothing but his pajama pants. It was the first time Kurt noticed how toned the boy's body had become. Okay, he had looked amazing before but their training had formed his body a lot. The remaining of his childish features disappeared and he had become a really good looking young man. Damn, he shouldn't look at Blaine like that. It was so wrong.

Blaine turned around with a plate in his hands and almost dropped it when he realized that he wasn't alone. He fell silent immediately and watched Kurt with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry" Kurt said quickly. "I didn't know you were here."

"I couldn't sleep" Blaine said.

"Why?" Kurt asked. He was already worried that something was bothering Blaine.

Blaine sighed and walked to the table. He put down his plate that was full of vegetables and cheeses and sat down. Kurt joined him when Blaine didn't say anything.

"You talked to your father, right?" Kurt asked. "Did it help?"

"We had a good time together today" Blaine said.

"That's not what I asked" Kurt pointed out.

"I know" Blaine said.

"So?"

"So what?" Blaine asked back.

"Are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Kurt asked.

Blaine fell silent again. Usually it wasn't so hard to make him speak. Kurt was afraid that something might have happened.

"Blaine, if there's something wrong…"

"There's nothing wrong" Blaine said quickly. "I mean… there's nothing new. I just can't stop thinking and that means I can't fall asleep either. So I made myself a snack and I thought I could go back to my room and think about the song we would sing."

"Excellent idea" Kurt nodded. "We're running out of time."

"I know" Blaine groaned. "It's harder than I thought. I had so many ideas but none of them seemed right. I want to come up with the best song possible but the more I think about it, the harder it is. I don't think I'll be able to find the right one in time."

"I guess that means I need a coffee" Kurt said and walked to the coffee machine.

"What are you doing?" Blaine asked in confusion.

"Helping you, of course" Kurt explained. "We need to find a song for the competition."

"But… right now?" Blaine asked slowly. It was already late and he didn't want Kurt to stay awake just for him. It was really sweet but Kurt had to be well-rested to be able to work.

"Sure" Kurt answered. "Tell me about your ideas."

That made Blaine silent again. He had had some beautiful ideas but none of them seemed right. The problem was, every time he tried to come up with the right song, he only found love songs. Probably because he was in love with Kurt and the only song he could com up with was of course a romantic one. He had a feeling that Kurt wouldn't like that, though.

"I-I think we could sing a classic song this time" Blaine said in the end. "We always pick the newest hits and that's exactly what the other groups expect from us. We have to surprise the judges. I want to go to New York this year."

There was something in his eyes, probably the determination that made Kurt smile. Blaine was upset way too often, it was good to see him in a better mood.

"I like that" Kurt said. "To your luck, your buddies chose you the best duet partner possible. I can sing everything. Seriously. We'll be invincible together."

Blaine looked up at him and smiled.

"What is it?" Kurt asked.

"You seem like you're starting to enjoy this assignment" Blaine said.

"Oh, come on. I'm only trying to help you" Kurt said, rolling his eyes.

"Is that so?" Blaine asked. "Because I have a feeling that you want to win this competition just as much as I do. You want to go to New York."

"New York was my dream once" Kurt nodded. "I don't know, though. That was so many years ago. The city doesn't mean that much to me anymore."

Blaine leaned closer to him. That always made Kurt nervous. The kid seemed to read him way too well, it become harder and harder to hide his feelings from him.

"I don't think that's true" Blaine said in the end. "You know, you could still go to New York. Start a new life there."

"And who would save your ass then?" Kurt asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I'm fine, thank you very much" Blaine told him.

"Seriously, I can't think about things like that right now. You know very well that I have to focus on my job. I can't fail" Kurt said.

Just the mention of those guys made Blaine sad again. He tried to forget about it and go back to a lighter topic, to joke and laugh with Kurt, but it wasn't so easy. The threat was still there and it made Sectionals a lot scarier.

"Do you think they'll try to get me again?" Blaine asked quietly.

"I'll be there right beside you" Kurt told him. He saw that Blaine was upset again. "I already talked to your dad about it. He'll get you a few more bodyguards for the competition. They'll keep their eyes open and if we're lucky, one of us will be able to detect the right people."

A memory of being caught hit Blaine so suddenly that he couldn't breath for a moment. Was it possible that it happened again? What if Kurt wouldn't be able to save him this time? There would be so many people, it would be a lot easier to get lost in the crowd and if that happened...

"Blaine" Kurt stood up and walked to the boy when he saw that Blaine was shaking. He put a hand on the boy's shoulder and squeezed it.

"I just… I-I don't think I can do it" Blaine said.

"Yes, you can" Kurt said. "You'll go up there, sing with your friends and win the competition. You'll go to New York this year. I promise."

"They'll be there for sure, right?" Blaine asked.

Kurt knew that he meant Sectionals. He wanted to say that it was only precaution but he had made a promise not to lie to the boy. Blaine wouldn't have bought his lies anyway.

"Probably yes" Kurt nodded. "But it's not a bad thing. We'll be prepared and we'll have a better chance to point them out."

"And then what?" Blaine asked.

Kurt always had to remind himself that Blaine was still so young. Kids at his age didn't have to worry about things he had. He wasn't ready.

"We'll hand them over and let the police deal with them" Kurt answered shortly. That had to be enough.

"I'm scared" Blaine said suddenly. Kurt was the only person he trusted completely. He knew that Kurt wouldn't judge him. And he wouldn't lie to him.

"I know but you have to trust us" Kurt said.

"I trust you" Blaine said. He only meant Kurt, of course, but he didn't have to explain it, Kurt knew that very well.

Blaine pushed himself up from the chair and threw his arms around Kurt. It happened to quickly, just like at the mall when Kurt had saved him, that the man needed a few seconds to react. He hesitated again, just like he had back then, but then he put his arms around Blaine. It felt a lot more natural this time. It felt right.

"I love you" Blaine muttered. He didn't even realize that it happened.

Kurt heard it, though, but he didn't think that it meant more than it should have. Blaine was his assignment after all, he knew that he couldn't be more and he thought that the boy only considered him a friend. So those words seemed more like a thank you in that moment and Kurt was okay with it.

"It's okay, kid" Kurt said. "It'll be over soon and then you can forget about the whole thing."

At least he hoped so. It was so bad to see him Blaine upset. Kurt only wanted him to be happy.


End file.
